#our first glimpse of jensen as mark

[sexyvixen7]

(Source: Just Jared)

Jensen as Mark on the set of 'Countdown.' Looks like his character goes undercover in prison.

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 212

Soul Survivor/Deep Breath

“Soul Survivor”

Plot Description: facing mounting problems in hell, Crowley seeks out an unlikely ally in Castiel, while Sam’s determined efforts to cure Dean hit a snag

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: No one died

Oooo, can you not cure Dean the same way you did Crowley??

Ok but what DO you care, Sam?? I’ll never (til Dean’s no longer a demon) stop ranting about how much you ran your mouth about how little you cared about him, how you would have let him die if he had been doing the Trials…it’s no wonder he’s like this now

I hope Hannah’s not falling in love with Castiel. And not in an “only destiel is correct” or hating on ships that would pass as heterosexual way. He just…he needs a friend. He needs someone he can lean on right now instead of being the one others lean on

Jensen directed this one??

Why’s this guy look like the dude Dean killed last episode?? Omg is he??

OH MY GOD. SAM PUSHED THAT GUY TO MAKE THE DEAL FOR HIS SOUL?? DUDE.

Jensen is mesmerizing in his taunting and anger

Omgggggg Crowley. You MISS HIM. YOU MISS DEAN. This is the funniest show in the world, but they want me to believe they’re serious

RIP to the demon who wanted to be Crowley’s rebound

Oh thank god Sam called at that moment. It LOOKED like Hannah might have wanted to kiss Cas…

Sam, bestie, you had me til you said “we don’t get to quit in this family.” Remember that time you hit a dog and went on a romantic side plot instead of looking for Dean AT ALL?

I’m in so much pain right now. This conversation is SO TODOBROS “your very existence sucked the life out of my life”?! “This isn’t my brother talking” “you never had a brother. Just an excuse for not manning up”?! “This family is all we’ve ever had” “well then we’ve got nothin”?! “You’d say that to dad?” “Dad?! Oh there’s a prize. The man who brainwashed us into fighting his losing battle”?! “Is this you manning up?” “This is me yanking your lame ass out of the fire”?!?!?! I am SCREAMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crowley’s hell problems don’t seem so bad compared to literally everyone else’s

That is quite possibly the kindest way he could turn her down, but I don’t like seeing Hannah hurt

Nooooo not the angel who got away from them last time

(There are possibly too many plot lines going on in each of these episodes)

Nooooo not the picture of Mary and baby Dean, of the boys and Bobby, of just the boys together 😭

Uhhhhh, where did Dean go???

Huh…why…is Crowley stealing grace (likely for Castiel but WHY FOR CASTIEL?! Not ungrateful, just confused)??

Wtf Dean? The meat cleaver wasn’t enough? You wanted to go with the blunt object of a hammer??

Why DOES Crowley want Cas’s help?? Ok but aside from that ONE GUY Dean killed and ONE demon burning himself to not live in your hell anymore, what problems do you ACTUALLY have?? Or is this a nip it in the bud situation? Which would be smart

(Ok but like…Jensen’s a good director. This is an absolutely gorgeous episode. And obviously the credit doesn’t go solely to the director but SOME of it does)

No but like this cat and mouse game in the bunker is SO GOOD

I don’t trust that he’s fully cured. I want it to be true but it can’t be that easy. Especially since he still has the Mark of Cain…

It makes me so sad that Cas has had his problem VERY TEMPORARILY fixed but…is still focusing on Dean’s problems.

Not Dean looking a the same pictures Sam wassssss

This is too nice of a moment between them to not be ruined in the last like twenty seconds…ok turns out it WAS just a nice moment of peace between Cas and Dean

Ohhhhhhh our first glimpse of Rowena!!! Crowley’s mother has entered the chat!!

“Deep Breath”

Plot Description: The Doctor and Clara arrive in Victorian London and find a dinosaur rampant in the Thames

This trex would have looked so much worse i the RTD era a and I think I would have liked it more. But Vastra and Jenny fighting over the dino’s gender is kind of funny considering Vastra was THERE

Ohhhhhh Twelve is still cooking a bit. Yeah…we needed to let him cook a bit more before he got chased and swallowed by a dinosaur.

Oh…they redecorated the opening credits. I don’t like it

Omg…I love this part. He’s so mad at the concept of a bedroom. I think about that at least twice a year despite not seeing this in almost a decade. “You’ve got a whole room just for not being awake in?! What’s the point? You’re just missing the room!”

(I’m a little mad I’m not going to finish this before midnight. But I didn’t know this episode was more than an hour long)

Oh…some cyborg guy is…doin some shit

This is a weird conversation…and I don’t know that I agree with how Clara’s being treated. Not all companions go through the Doctor regenerating. It’s a WEIRD EXPERIENCE TO GO THROUGH.

Sir if you don’t get off that roof—why is the dinosaur ON FIRE???

Strax has a hard time letting go of his Sontaran customs…we do not melt people in acid

“Lots of young men doing sport. Is that sport? Could be sport” this is what is allegedly in Clara’s subconscious: yaoi

The way Clara AND the Doctor are both concerned with his new face. I know it’ll be significant but I wanna know why NOW

“These are attack eyebrows!” Omg his rant about his eyebrows and then having a Scottish accent 🥰

This poor man the Doctor just happened to run into…he’s so scared

Ruh roh…who brought them together for lunch??

I’ve missed a contentious doctor-companion relationship. Though the closest we truly got was Donna and Ten, but THIS. They both think the other is an egomaniac. They’re so mean and snarky to each other

Why are these people just like mechanical dolls?? No wonder the Doctor called them all pudding brained at the beginning of the episode

(OH MY GOD. I FUCKED UP. I WAS SUPPOSED TO WATCH SHERLOCK THREE DAYS AGO.)

It’s not that I don’t like Capaldi as the Doctor but this episode is…it’s not it. It didn’t have to be over an hour long…

TO WHAT END?! To get home?? Why is the captain android of this ship trying to turn itself into a real boy?!

Wtf?! You don’t just LEAVE YOUR COMPANION LIKE THAT!!!

Ah, so that’s why it’s called Deep Breath? Because Clara has to hold her breath to pretend to be a robot for an unconscionably long time?

Omg omg omg THEN WHO SET THEM UP FOR LUNCH IF NOT THESE ANDROID PEOPLE?! Was it Vastra?? Seems like it

I like Twelve. I don’t like this episode. The “Doctor comes in contact with an ancient being comparable to themself shortly after regenerating” was so much better with Eleven (if Ten had one, i can’t recall it)

Why does Twelve keep leaving Clara?! It’s so rude

I like this TARDIS redecoration better than the last one, but Ten’s and Eleven’s with the Ponds were both better. I like the warm lighting and this does have a little of that, but it’s also…weirdly dark

He’s over 2000 years old now?!

Wait…could it be Missy?? Who gave Clara the Doctor’s number back when and who set them up for lunch?

I wish she didn’t need Eleven’s support to stay by Twelve’s side to help him.

I know this garden. YEAH!! Missy!!

[bunnymcbunnister]

SPN Season 15 Spoiler Sheet, update 10/3

Lots and lots of updates abound. I took out some old general stuff because this monster is huge (but it will only get shorter, sniff sniff) Spoilery goodness under the cut. 

DISCLAIMER: This is gathered info from various sources. This is not confirmed information. Stuff in this WILL be wrong. Don’t take this too seriously. This is for fun. Also, if you use this info for another publication, please let me know as a courtesy. Don’t be a dick. It's all out there, but it hurts to see my same phrasing on other publications after all the work I’ve done to consolidate it…  

General Info (oldest to newest). This is a blend of pre-COVID and post COVID, so some might change. 

In an interview, Kripe indicated that the series ending would have “peace” for Sam and Dean

Misha will be in 15 out of 20 episodes this season (he’s missed 3 so far and I suspect will miss 14. Unclear about 16, 19, and 20). 

Dean and Amara’s connection will be explored

JaxCon/Vegas Con spoilers: 

Misha said the ending was “happier than he expected” but also had some sadness. He later used “sad and redemptive”

Misha mentioned that Claire will be mentioned on the show, but as of yet not appear. 

Dean says the line “stop killing my people” (to god?)

Jensen said he doesn’t see how the story could continue past this season, but Jared said its more of “a see you later”

Al Cal posted a pic of a “thrown away” call sheet that seem to indicate Micheal, Lucifer, and a character named “Betty” interacting in the bunker. Unclear as to the validity, could be from 19 based on casting 

Charlie (original flavor) will return

Filming resumed on Aug 18th. Per Canadian policy, they must quarantine for two weeks. Those quarantining seemed to include:

Fairly Clear: Jared, Jensen, Jake Abel (Micheal), Rob Benedict (Chuck/God) Mark Pelligrino (Lucifer), Al Cal (didn't need to quarantine, but he is definitely on set), Jim Beaver (Bobby)

Unclear/Rumored: Misha (he is being deliberately cagey), Osric Chau (Kevin- but likely for another project, he was a week ahead of everyone else)

Reasons Unlikely: Sam Smith (chemo treatment), Kim Rhodes (working at a camp during quarantine), Ruth Connell (posted from Malibu the entire time)

No idea: Shoshannah Stern 

Jensen said sp 19 is more of a season finale, while 20 is a series finale. Repeated in interviews/livestreams. 

Megan Fitz. complimented both Dabb’s and Glynn’s writing on twitter. Not sure if it is in reference to rewrites or the special retrospective that is planned. 

Jensen indicated that the ending did change per COVID protocols. Later interviews (Variety) confirmed this, but it seemed to indicate the changes were in regards to how many people filmed at once (crowd scenes, recurring characters returning)

Misha is being very, very cagey about where he was. Some live streams seem to indicate he is not at home, but he has yet to confirm- his presence in 19/20 is hard to track. In an interview with Metaverse, he was in bed in a hotel looking space and you could see mountains in the background. He was not on set for the first week of filming, so he could be a week behind. 

Misha has thrown around the words “final”  and “what he <Misha> would have wanted” per Cas’ ending. “Sad/Proud” and “poignant” were also used. His latest line is “sad but satisfying”

The final episodes will premier October 8th. The finale will air Nov 19th in conjunction with an hour long special. 

Dabb confirmed to TV line the episode 19/20 explanation Jensen’s mentioned- For the most part, we wrap up a big chunk of our mythology in Episode 19,Episode 20 is more character-based and is more concerned with Sam, Dean and this family they’ve built around them than it is with figuring out the Case of the Week.

When talking about the lightheartedness of returning on ep 14, Dabb said deeply depressing and upsetting episodes are coming (USAToday). He also said we would see “new sides” of Jack, Cas, and Billie. A revisit of Chuck and Amara’s “sibling issues” as well is on tap. Jared said sacrifices are coming. 

From TV Line-  re the battle with Chuck. Allies will return, buit was repeated several times in the article that is comes down to Sam and Dean. Jack will struggle with getting his soul back but will be helped by Cas.

It was confirmed there will be no appearances by mamma and papa Winchester, possible due to COVID. (TVLine)

A trailer was released on 8/27. Scenes included:

A moving speech from Sam to Dean

(Possibly from 18) A teary conversation between Dean and Cas

Injured Dean being helped by Cas in the bunker

Jack breaking some cuffs/bring thrown into a wall/saying he has to kill god

Dean and his grenade launcher and a purple nightgown 

Sam in a sweater vest getting a gun from under a pillow

A glimpse of a body with “Lust” written above it/a matronly woman (I think the villain from 14) saying “Boys”

Ghose Dean? Little Sam cutting off a hand

Some intermixed scenes from past episodes

https://youtu.be/d5AzUa5zABI

A second trailer was released on 8/31. Scenes included:

A monologue from Billie about god coming to destroy the planet plus her banging on a bunker door (with her hand all gooey) and striking someone with her scythe

Jack continuing his speech about killing god but expanding that he has a ritual to do

Lots of red danger lights in the bunker/ 3 people getting tossed around in the bunker/Chuck in the bunker

Chuck saying he doesn't believe Sam and Dean can kill him

Young Sam and not ghost Young dean

Dean angrily driving the Impala then saying “its time”

Cas drawing his blade in front of an old truck to protect someone in a suit (Jack? I can't tell)

More Dean tears

A surprise appearance from Bobby

Some of the same scenes as before

https://youtu.be/mBTwCWkOFKw

A third trailer was released on 9/24. It was a rehash of the other two, but a new new scenes included: 

A handcuffed Jack asking Dean if his plan will work, Dean cheekily replying, and swing a machete at the cuffs

More of Dean and his nightgown

Sam saying “it's our one shot”

A pair of werewolves/vampires?

https://youtu.be/7oVO9BdADnQ

A Shaving People, Punting Things trailer was released on 10/2. Scenes included:

Dean in a bar with a blond woman

Sam by the mountain lake with facial wounds

Sam in a birthday crown

Several scenes with Sam and Dean in a barn

Team Free Will 2.0 in  a bunker corridor, Jack looking injured (?)

Cas digging near a stop sign

Sam, Dean, and Jack walking down a street/later in a church/in the Impala

Sad Dean in the dungeon/Sad Sam drinking and knocking over a book

Sad Jack and Cas leaning on the Impala

Scattered shot of Sad Sam and Dean (drinking in the bunker, learning against the Impala)

Sam/Donna hug

Sad Jack on a bed

Dean entering a motel room

Amara looking blissful

Dean giving Sam an encouraging face pat

Billie choking Cas

Sam and Dean shooting/swinging machetes/knives

Glowing eye lady in the bunker

Sam and Dean getting thrown around the bunker

Sam in Death’s library, hurting

Billie swinging a scythe

A bunker door getting blown up

Many behind the scenes shots, including one of Felicia Day (Charlie)

https://youtu.be/yex3jbuf8Mo

Episode 15x14

Title: Last Holiday

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME – Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) discover a wood nymph (guest star Meagan Fey) living in the bunker who is determined to protect her family, at any cost. Eduardo Sanchez directed the episode written by Jeremy Adams (#1514). Original airdate 3/30/2020.

Written by: Jeremy Adams

Director: Eduardo Sanchez

Filming Dates:1/15- 1/24

Airdate: unknown- October 8th

Photos: https://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/supernatural-returns-season-15-episode-14-last-holiday/

Promo: kind of lumped in with the other promos

Sneak Peak: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CF0HK1blaFU/?igshid=o2ffwvgud56j

Sneak Peak 2: https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2020/10/07/final-supernatural-episodes-lead-climactic-amazing-showdown/3632212001/

Castiel ? eh… I don't think so Jack ? yes

Guest stars:  Meagen Fay (fae lady)

Other Spoilers/info:

Misha mentioned being at an airport the first day of filming, maybe he’ll miss this one

The director shared a BTS shot with AlCal’s chair in the background. He also posted on that looked like the statues in hell. Lots of filming at the bunker. A few impala shots were shared as well. 

In an EW article, “a mysterious woman gives Sam and Dean every holiday they ever missed”

Episode 15x15

Title: Gimme Shelter

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: MATT COHEN DIRECTS – Castiel (Misha Collins) and Jack (Alexander Calvert) work a case involving members of a local church. Meanwhile, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) go off in search of Amara (guest star Emily Swallow). Matt Cohen directed the episode written by Davy Perez (#1515). Original airdate 10/15/2020.

Written by: Davy Perez

Director: Matt Cohen

Filming Dates: 1/27-2/5

Airdate: unknown. October 15th

Photos: http://www.ksitetv.com/supernatural/supernatural-gimme-shelter-preview-images-released/205510/

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel ?yes  Jack ? Yes

Guest stars: Emily Sparrow? 

Other Spoilers/info:

There was some filming done at the crossroads with only Misha. 

Alex and Misha filmed together

It seems as if J2 didn’t film at all the first week, Misha filmed six or seven days, is this is a Cas centric ep?

Episode 15x16

Title: Drag Me Away (From You)

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: FLASHBACK TO A YOUNG SAM AND DEAN – Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) are asked to investigate the murder of a childhood friend, calling them back to a motel from their past and perplexing the brothers with a case they thought was solved a long time ago. Amyn Kaderali directed the episode written by Meghan Fitzmartin (#1516). Original airdate 10/22/2020.

Written by: Megan Fitzmartin

Director: Amyn Kaderali

Filming Dates: 2/6-2/17

Airdate: October 22nd

Photos: 

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel ? I think so… briefly? Jack ? not sure either. 

Guest stars: IMDB credits Lisa Berry (Billie/Death)  as well as Young Sam, Young Dean and both grown and young Caitlyn

Other Spoilers/info:

Alex got a cast of his face around the filming of this- so this ep or the one after

Looks like we get Dean in a robe!

They filmed at Rooster’s Sunrise Hotel for 3 days/nights

This is the flashback ep

From TVLine- “It worked not only as a case right now, but also as something that informed the journey Sam and Dean have taken, where they started as kids, how they kind of came together and then how that has [led up] to the point that they are, emotionally, when the episode airs. So it ended up being a really good reflection of our guys now, telling a story about our guys then, which, to me, are always the best versions of those types of flashback stories.”

Episode 15x17

Title: Unity

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:  ONE WAY OR ANOTHER – Dean (Jensen Ackles) hits the road with Jack (Alexander Calvert) who needs to complete a final ritual in the quest to beat Chuck (guest star Rob Benedict). A difference of opinion leaves Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Castiel (Misha Collins) behind looking for answers to questions of their own. Catriona McKenzie directed the episode written by Meredith Glynn (#1517). Original airdate 10/29/2020.

Written by: Meredith Gylnn

Director: Catrion McKenzie

Filming Dates: 2/19-2/28

Airdate: Oct 29th?

Photos: 

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel ? yes Jack ? yes

Guest stars: Rob Benedict and Emily Sparrow. IMDB credits Robert Wisdom (Uriel)

Other Spoilers/info:

Chuck and Amara trailers were seen on set when filming in a garden

Jensen was in NOLA Friday, possible Monday

“Uriel” was around for filming (Post COVID update: Misha seemed to indicate that this was because the actor was nearby filming? Not sure if this is to cover up the spoiler or the truth)

Alex and Jensen filmed in the imala

Episode 15x18

Title: Despair (it was The Truth at some point I think)

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: 

Written by: BOBO

Director: Speight

Filming Dates: 3/2--3/11

Airdate: Nov 5th?

Photos: 

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel ? yes Jack ? yes

Guest stars: IMDB credits Billie

Other Spoilers/info:

Misha and Alex filmed near the impala. J2 showed up later that night. This was the source of the “last time they all filmed on set” photo)

An really emotional scene was filmed with Misha and Jensen. Jared was definitely not there, but Alex was on the flight they took with Rich, so its possible he was too. This was revealed at a con in which the four of them were on a plane that had an in-flight problem.

Filming watchers saw a bro hug

Tape Ball posted a shot of field that looks like where dean came back from hell

Misha indicated this was his “favorite episode” in a recent interview

Episode 15x19

Title: Inherit the Earth

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: 

Written by: bucklelimg

Director: John Showalter

Filming Dates:: 3/12-3/23/cancelled for COVID and then 8/18-8/27

Airdate: Nov 12th

Photos: 

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel ? unknown Jack ? yes

Guest stars: Jake Abel (Micheal), Mark Pelligrino (Lucifer) 

Other Spoilers/info:

Production shut down as a precaution for coronavirus on 3/13, two days into filming. It is scheduled to start again on Aug 18th. 

Jensen indicated there might be some re-writes for this ep to account for COVID protocols.

When they started filming, they indicated they were on day two. So maybe they could only use some of the scenes they shot? Then they added an extra day all called it day 9. COVID protocols makes things take longer 

AlCal was definitely on set. 

Jake Abel is definitely on set, and he posted an instagram story with his trailer and Lucifer’s (Mark Pelligrino)

Some filming was done at a gas station called Showalter’s (name of the director) with Jared, Jensen, and Alex

Jake “Spoiler King” Abel filmed a video showing chairs for Jared, Jensen, and Alex as well as Rob Benedict (Chuck/God). They were filming near a lake with a mountain view (that looked similar to where Cas died in season 13)

Rob Benedict posted it was his last day in Vancouver, indicating we won't see Chuck past this episode? Or very very briefly in 20? Jake Abel posted a similar message, also baiting fans about Misha’s whereabouts 

Scene “28” took several days and seemed to go across both 19 and 20? So they might have done some combo filming?

 Episode 15x20

Title: Carry On

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: 

Written by: Dabb

Director: Bob Singer

Filming Dates: 8/28- 9/10  

Airdate: November 19th

Photos: 

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel ? maaaaybe? Jack ? maaaaybe?

Guest stars: Jim Beaver

Other Spoilers/info:

Jensen indicated filming would take two weeks, longer than usual (looks like a 9 day shoot, with a day off for Labor Day)

According to Superwiki, 9/3 was the last day on the bunker set, the final days are on location. 

Scene “28” took several days and seemed to go across both 19 and 20? So they might have done some combo filming?

Filming locations seemed to include a barn (pic with a stunt guy showed wooden walls and straw) and a lake (not the mountain lake from 19), and a forest. Filming signs spotted at Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve. 

Jim Beaver confirmed his appearance on Twitter

There was a pic of J2 with baby on a bridge. Baby had her original plates. They seem to be wearing the same clothes they were in the pilot. There may be grey (??) In their hair, but that could be lighting

Misha posted some creation videos, saying he had been on an impromptu camping trip. He was back in his house. They were posted on the last day of filming and he had pretty decent scruff. He also mentioned that it was the last day of filming and he wasn't up there. 

The show officially wrapped at 6:25 on 9/10

Jared said “the last time Sam and Dean see each other is the last time Jared and Jensen film together” but seem to imply that was not the final scene? It was a confusing answer to a question about filming the final scene.

IMDB credits a vampire?

[rambling-at-midnight]

A Nice Day Off

Request: Could you write a spn/tua crossover fic? I need this in my life!

Pairing: slight Destiel. That’s it. It’s also pretty long because I felt like this needed backstory and the concept was fun to write. Enjoy!

Dean groans with frustration at the sight of a red hem turning the corner of the labyrinth he’s currently trapped in with his brother and Cas, with no way to call their backup, Jack, for help, because there’s no service in this goddamn maze.

First a trail of bodies with different organs cut out starting in, what a coincidence, the same town Sam and Dean were hunting a ghost in. But the mutilated people hadn’t stopped showing up in the hospital, even though they’d definitely taken care of the ghost. Then there was a girl who’d had one of her eyes scooped out, claiming to only remember seeing the color red before she’d passed out again from the pain. The color red, and a weird shed in the woods behind the high school with strange markings on the door.

The shed hadn’t been hard to find. It’d been even easier to find with the obvious bloody trail leading up to the door where, of course, Cas had identified the markings as Satanic.

Then, because they’re all dumbasses, Sam, Dean, and Cas stepped into the shed, and Dean hasn’t seen his brother since.

The shed, which had appeared to be smaller than a regular motel room from the outside, turns out to have a humongous inside. There had been a trapdoor that led to a chute or something once they all stepped inside and Dean and Sam had gone down different sides.

(And yes, the only reason Cas stayed with Dean is because he was holding onto Dean’s jacket. Shut up.)

Then Dean had seen a figure in red running down whatever hallway they’d landed in and he’d taken off. No matter how fast he runs, the figure in red always seems to be one step ahead of him.

“Son of a bitch!” he finally yells, hitting the wall with the side of his fist with frustration. “Sammy!”

Sam doesn’t respond.

Dean swears some more, his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. Cas, as usual, is unaffected by everything that Dean is affected by, which is, as usual, infuriating.

Dean looks up, ready to snap at Cas for being useless when it comes to finding his brother or catching the figure in red, but he sees the figure in red peering back around the corner.

Oh.

This is a game of cat and mouse, and Dean’s not entirely confident he’s not the mouse.

“What do you want, you bitch?” he wheezes, standing up and groaning. He’s getting too old for this.

The figure in red flicks its head and for the first time Dean hears his brother’s voice.

“Dean!” It sounds to be coming from behind the red figure.

“Sammy!” Dean bellows, cursing internally again before starting to jog again. He’s not entirely sure he wants to reach where the figure in red is leading him, but there’s also the chance that his brother is in trouble.

A giggle floats down the corridor and the figure in red whips away.

Dean is lost. Definitely. He’s lost count of the rights and the lefts he’s taken. It’s at least four more turns before he gets a better glimpse of the figure in red as the hallway opens up into a massive chamber with at least five other hallway entrances.

Basically, this was a maze. A massive underground maze. And now Sam, Dean, and Cas are in the middle of it.

“Sammy!” Dean barks when he sees his brother on the opposite side of the room. He doesn’t look injured, but still—“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Dean,” Sam replies. “You’re fine, right? And you, Cas?”

Both men nod their heads.

The figure in red lowers its hood and Dean recognizes who it is.

Because of course it’s Rowena.

“What are you doing here?” he spits. Witches. “Why’d you lead us in a wild goose chase in a maze? Wait—you’re the reason for all the mutilations, aren’t you?”

“Of course,” the witch laughs. “But don’t worry. They’re all alive, correct? I left them at the hospital after retrieving what I wanted from them.” She winks over her shoulder at Sam. “You boys must be rubbing off on me.”

“So this was all for a spell?” Dean asks, moving to step forward but stopping as if he’s been tethered to a brick wall. He looks back and sees that Cas has a hold of the back of his jacket. He shrugs. It’s a valid point; Rowena is a wild card if they’ve ever met one. It’s better to be cautious and not get within reach of her to hex them or spew bodily fluids.

“Yes,” Rowena answers briskly. “I need to pop into another dimension quickly and get another ingredient for a spell I’m working on that will help you with whatever apocalypse the three of you have started.”

Dean scowls. Well, yes, there is (but only sort of) a looming apocalypse on the horizon, but she wasn’t supposed to know about that. “Why? What’s in it for you?”

“Your enemies have a price on my head,” she replies. “While you three seem to have a knack for escaping the clutches of death, I’d prefer not to have to create another charm to prevent me from the unpleasant sensation. It can be quite painful to die, even if I survive.”

Dean looks at Sam as the witch starts to chant, and he shrugs. He’s always had a soft spot for the witch, but Dean doesn’t know why. He takes small solace in the fact that Sam’s here, and if worst comes to worst he’ll be the one to end the witch once and for all. Somehow.

“Then why did you lure us down this labyrinth?” Cas asks.

Rowena says a final word and a crack splits the silence, followed by a white light that splits the air. “I have no idea what’s in this new dimension. I quite wanted protection, seeing as how our best interests align in this endeavor.”

Dean can’t argue with that sound logic. He examines what must be the portal suspiciously.

“That’s not any spell we’ve seen before,” Sam points out.

Rowena waves her hand airily. “I made a new one that’s much more convenient. No more pesky one-in-a-million ingredients. Just a few human body parts and some common herbs. Simple, if you’ve got enough talent. It’ll last for eight hours.” She winks at Sam. “Are you boys ready?”

“Hold on a sec,” Sam mutters. He fishes his phone out of his pocket. “Should probably give Jack a heads-up.” He scowls. “No service.”

“Great,” Dean gripes. Poor kid’s gonna be confused and worried for a full day before they get back. “Let’s make this trip as quick as possible, then.”

Cas grips Dean’s hand (shut up, Sam) and Sam grabs the hem of Dean’s jacket as Dean uses his free hand to grip the shoulder of Sam’s jacket. No more taking any chances of going down different chutes. In a line, they follow Rowena into the blinding light...

And into an empty room.

Sam spins on his heel, taking in the area, and Dean looks up. A massive steel chandelier hangs from the ceiling of what must be a mansion, judging by the size of the foyer and the many rooms that look to branch off of it.

“Ah, civilization,” Rowena says, pleased. She straightens her already-straight dress and pats her hair. “Perfect.”

“Where are we?” Cas asks, frowning. “I can’t sense any of my brothers and sisters.”

“We must have landed in a universe without heaven,” Sam exhales. “Remember Jared Padalecki? And Supernatural?”

“And Jensen Ackles,” Dean acknowledges, nodding. “Sorry, Cas, but looks like you’re outta grace for the moment.”

Cas looks at his hands, frowning.

Something hurtles through the air and buries itself into Cas’s chest. A knife. Fuck. Will that hurt him, even though he’s an angel, but he doesn’t have any powers here, but does that just apply to grace and wings or—

“Sam, is he okay?” Dean asks tersely, holding up his gun in the direction the knife had come from. He sees a pair of eyes glint and adjusts accordingly.

Something flashes behind him and the clicking of a safety near his ear makes Dean’s blood run cold.

“Don’t even try it,” Sam growls. Dean knows that he’s got his gun pointed at whoever’s pointing one at him.

“Or what?” the person hisses through gritted teeth. “You’ll shoot me?”

“Yes,” Sam replies resolutely. It must surprise him.

“I’m fine,” Cas groans, on the ground and not sounding very fine. “I suppose our questions were answered. I am still unable to be killed except by my—”

“Shh,” Dean hisses, not wanting to give their attackers any ideas.

“We must have gotten off on the wrong foot,” Rowena calls, her voice lilting in the dusty air. “We didn’t mean to end up in your house.”

“Really?” an unfamiliar voice snarls behind Dean. “What’s that light?”

“What are they talking about, Five?” a deep, grating voice asks.

“Does it look like I know?” the voice snaps back. It’s the voice of a kid. “They came through a light in the middle of our foyer. Do I have any experience with that sort of stuff?”

“Uh... yes,” another person points out.

“Fair enough,” the kid admits.

“Sam, is there a preteen holding a gun to my head right now?” Dean asks, rolling his eyes.

Sam can’t keep the snicker out of his voice, even though he knows this is a serious situation. “Yep.”

“Look,” Dean starts, “I’m sure if we all put down our weapons, we can sort something out.”

The preteen snorts. “I’m not about to compromise to some robbers breaking into our house.”

“Buddy, you’re not gonna be involved in the conversation,” Sam retorts. “The adults are gonna handle this one.”

Cas sighs. There’s movement at Dean’s feet—undoubtedly he’s standing up—and two gunshots.

Dean winces.

“Fine, fine,” Cas grumbles. Dean whirls just in time to see Sam knock the gun out of the stunned preteen boy’s hands.

“What the hell are you?” the boy whispers.

“Five?” a new voice asks. “What the hell is going on?”

Something flashes and Dean chances a look behind himself. Fuck. It’s Jack, stumbling out of the portal. How he’d known to go inside the shed, find the middle of the maze, and jump through the portal, Dean doesn’t know.

“Hello!” Jack beams at his three dads and then at the six people trickling into the room. “It’s nice to meet you!”

“He’s got powers too!” a man holding a throwing knife marvels. Undoubtedly he’s the one that threw it at Cas’s chest. “But he’s not our age.”

“Like I said,” Dean repeats. “I’m sure we can work something out.”

~~~~

Rowena left the boys to deal with the five adults and one bloodthirsty preteen, citing the need to find whatever ingredient that exists in this universe and not in their own.

There’s a monstrous man called Luther (who is very white), and the man dressed in black leather that had thrown a knife at Cas is called Diego (who is definitely not white, probably Mexican). He marvels at how Cas survived the knife to the chest as well as two bullet wounds, even going so far as insisting that he take off his shirt to prove he doesn’t have a bulletproof vest on.

Dean hadn’t liked them all marveling over the angel’s surprisingly toned chest.

Then there’s a lady named Allison (who is African-American) and another lady called Vanya (who is white). The preteen boy is called Five, and he’s definitely at least part not-Caucasian.

And they all claim to be siblings.

Dean puzzles over that for five seconds before remembering that adoption is a thing. The jump to another reality must have scrambled his brains again.

“This is my older brother, Dean,” Sam introduces. “This is Cas, Dean’s boyfr—”

Cas clears his throat. He knows that Dean still isn’t comfortable with people knowing about their... relationship.

“Well, he’s an angel. And this is our son, Jack, who is half-archangel,” Sam finishes.

“He’s... all three of you’s son?” Vanya asks, and, despite the bad grammar, Sam nods.

“Adopted,” Dean adds. “Technically, he’s Lucifer’s son. But Lucifer’s a major dick that tortured my brother for about a thousand years, and the kid isn’t stupid, so he stays with us.”

Jack preens at being called not stupid, which is kind of a low bar. Maybe Dean should compliment the kid more. No, scratch that, he should definitely compliment the kid more. God knows Dean would’ve liked a little more appreciation for taking care of Sammy when he was younger from John. “I killed Lucifer for hurting Sam,” he adds angelically. “He wasn’t very nice.”

Sam reaches out and pats Jack’s knee. “We’re all very proud of you, Jack.”

“Lucifer?” Luther repeats. “Uh...”

“Oh, yeah,” Dean adds. “You guys don’t have God in this universe.”

“We have Christianity,” Allison says, a little defensively.

“Wait,” Sam yelps. “He’s—” He points at Five, who is definitely at the most fifteen years old, and currently drinking a margarita. Judging by the ingredients on the counter, it is most definitely not non-alcoholic.

“That’s a long story,” Diego sighs.

“We could take turns?” Jack suggests.

~~~~

At the end of it, everyone but Jack, who opts for a glass of chocolate milk, is drinking alcohol. Apparently his powers are still intact in this universe, maybe because he’s as powerful or more so than an archangel. That’s useful to know.

“So you’re all the same age,” Sam says for the third time. “Except for the kid, who is not actually a kid.”

Five nods. “58.”

“But for most of those years he was completely isolated and therefore not any more mature than a regular fifteen-year-old kid, only more murderous,” someone says singsong behind them. Dean jumps.

Five scowls. “That is so not true, asshole—”

“Ah, yes,” Allison sighs. “This is Klaus.”

“It is definitely true,” Klaus argues back, taking the margarita out of Five’s hands and drinking the rest of it in one gulp. “He’s feral. All teenage boys are feral.”

“He’s also your sibling?” Cas checks.

“Don’t ask about his power,” Diego mutters. “It’s a sensitive topic.”

“I am not feral!” Five sputters. With a flash of blue light, he disappears and reappears in front of Klaus, hands on his hips.

“Uh-huh,” Klaus nods, sidestepping him. “How could you have grown up without other people?”

“I had Dolores!” Five snarls, pulling a handgun out of his pocket and pointing it at his brother. Klaus seems unbothered. He pulls two bottles of whiskey from the shelf of alcohol and tosses the other behind his back. Five disappears and reappears, catching the bottle with a huff and stowing the gun. Apparently all is forgiven.

“Ah...” Allison starts, looking pained. “I suppose it’s no use to remind you that we don’t point guns at our siblings.”

“This is a regular occurrence, yes?” Castiel asks.

“Unfortunately,” Vanya answers, wearing an identical expression of consternation.

Cas points at Dean. “You shouldn’t be too worried. Sam and Dean have died multiple times. One time Sam even killed him. They turned out fine.”

Sam winces at that comment.

“It’s fine, Sam,” Dean says automatically. He doesn’t even remember Sam killing him during that one time Gabriel decided to be an even bigger dick than normal. “Don’t even remember it.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Five blurts out, staring at the grown men with new respect.

“They never even agree to not bring weapons into the kitchen,” Cas continues.

“I know, right?” Allison exclaims. “Like, we’re all eating breakfast! Don’t clean your knives, Diego!” She gives her brother the stink eye.

“What if something happens?” Diego and Dean retort back in unison. They exchange startled looks.

“One time,” Jack adds, “Dean shot me in the back in a grocery store.” He then goes back to drinking his chocolate milk, content to listen to the conversation.

Luther opens his mouth to further ask about that statement but his younger/older sibling interrupts him. “No, no, I want to hear more about coming back to life,” Five insists, draping himself over a chair.

“Yeah,” Luther agrees, sending an uneasy look in Jack’s direction when the boy snaps his fingers and his glass of chocolate milk fills itself. “So Sam dies, and Dean sells his soul to bring him back. Then Dean dies and goes to hell, Cas saves him, and you’ve been saving the world ever since?”

Sam shrugs. “More or less.”

“And there’s another apocalypse,” Vanya says slowly. “And you’re stopping it by coming to our universe.”

Dean shrugs. “Rowena more or less made it so we had no choice.” He glances into the foyer, where the white light of the portal doesn’t waver.

Vanya nods and then nudges Diego with her elbow. Her brother groans and rolls his eyes but leans forward and holds a hand out to Cas. “Sorry for stabbing you, man. No hard feelings?”

Cas takes his hand, a mysterious half-smile playing on his lips. “Of course.”

Vanya clears her throat. “Five, apologize for shooting Castiel or I’m taking your gun.”

Five snorts. “So? I’ve got more.”

“How many more?” Luther asks.

“Not telling.”

“I heard a rumor,” Allison says teasingly, “that you told us how many guns you have.”

“Fifteen,” Five says promptly, then he scowls. “Bitch. I’m still not giving you them. Get your own.”

Klaus says out of the blue, “No, I will not!” He flushes when everyone turns to look at him. “Ben told me to tell Diego to throw a knife at Jack since it won’t hurt him either.”

Diego brightens at the idea and Sam leaps off of the couch, positioning himself between the murderous superpowered human and the half-archangel. “We still don’t know why the angel’s powers are working while there’s no heaven,” he says firmly. “We’re not risking any more injuries.”

“I could just cut him,” Diego wheedles. “Just to see if it makes a cut and then it heals or if nothing happens. Come on. We don’t know how angels work.”

Jack shrugs and Dean barks, “We’re not cutting Jack for a science experiment!”

Klaus claps. “We should do science experiments!” as if he hadn’t heard Dean at all.

And that is how Dean finds himself in the courtyard of the Umbrella Academy mansion, torn between cheering for Cas and Luther as they compete to see who can lift the largest weight.

“It’s definitely going to be Cas,” Sam mutters. The Winchester brothers stand side-by-side in identical poses as they assess the experiments.

“Hey!” Allison yelps. “Luther, don’t you dare pick up my car! Dean, don’t encourage them!” The half-gorilla man sends her a sheepish look and shrugs at Cas.

Dean holds up his hands. “Like I can control them, lady.”

Allison rolls her eyes. “Castiel, come over here real quick.”

Well, that’s done for the day, Dean supposes. He turns around to see Jack with a blindfold over his eyes disappearing and reappearing, apparently playing tag with Five while both boys use their teleportation powers.

A bright smile on his face, Jack disappears before Five’s even left and appears on top of the boy, sending both ageless kids tumbling to the ground, giggling.

“Scary,” Luther mutters at Dean’s side. “Never seen Five laugh before.”

Dean looks at him out of the corner of his eye. “You ever been able to not pick something up?”

“I’ve never tried a house or something like that, obviously,” Luther admits, rubbing his chin. “But I’ve never really found something that I haven’t been able to lift.”

“That’s so cool,” Dean admits, shaking his head.

“Yo, Winchester!” Diego yells, waving as both Winchesters whip their heads around. “Target practice!”

“You say you can’t miss a target, huh?” Sam asks, smirking.

Diego nods.

“Well, we can do that without having a superpower,” Dean brags, all in good nature of course, and the competition is on.

When it’s discovered that Sam and Dean really are as good as Diego from years of practice, they call Jack over to move the targets midair. This is where Diego smirks, as Sam and Dean do miss a few and he misses none, even when his knives flip over themselves, zip back and forth, and defy the laws of gravity as they fly through the air.

“I’m going to use the restroom,” Dean announces at one point. “Where—”

“Walk straight, go up the stairs, take your first left,” Luther directs. He claps Dean on the shoulder and sends him stumbling away, hissing as he rubs his shoulder. “Uh, sorry.”

Dean really didn’t mean to eavesdrop. He’s two steps up when he hears Castiel’s voice and realizes he’d gone inside and not come back out. Curious now, he follows the voices down a staircase and flattens himself against the wall near the doorway of what must be the kitchen, judging by the smell of food inside the room.

“—determined to throw himself into the line of fire,” Cas gripes.

“I know, right?” Vanya exclaims. “Five seems to think he’s invincible or something.”

“One time he told me he was fine after getting stabbed because he’s gotten stabbed before!”

Allison giggles. “Like you can build up an immunity to stab wounds.”

“It’s quite hard to protect someone with the survival instincts of a squirrel on crack cocaine,” Cas remarks. Dean’s face colors when he realizes that he’s walked in on a gossip session consisting of his boyfriend and the two exasperated siblings of some weird-ass people.

“He loves you though, right?” Allison asks. “I could see it in the way he looked at you.”

Dean’s face gets even hotter. He’s not a big fan of the ‘L’ word.

“We have a profound bond,” Cas replies simply. That’s always been enough for their relationship.

Dean sneaks back up the stairs, hoping they don’t hear his footsteps. When he reaches the foyer, Rowena steps into the building, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

“Did you get it?” he asks gruffly.

Rowena smiles. “Of course I did. Are you ready to go?”

“Uh...” Dean knows he has to get back to his universe. He has a responsibility to save the world, of course. But it was enjoyable to hear about other people’s crazy lives and be able to relax. He settles for gesturing for her to follow and he leads her out to the courtyard.

He and Rowena watch as Sam tries frantically to stop Five from cutting Jack’s arm, even as Jack holds his arm out and holds him in place.

“I’m fine,” Jack insists. “See?” Five pokes his skin with the tip of the knife, marveling when the skin opens but no blood runs out and it knits itself back together in mere seconds.

“That’s so cool,” Diego breathes, shaking his head.

“Hey!” Dean barks, making all the spectators jump. “What did I say? Did I say no cutting Jack open or did I say yes cutting Jack open?”

Sheepishly, Jack lets Sam go and shrugs at Five. “Is it time for us to go already, Miss Rowena?”

“I’m sorry, Jack, but yes,” she answers.

Every person in the courtyard slumps a little bit.

“Did I hear Rowena?” Cas asks behind Dean, making him jump. “Oh. I supposed it was you. Our time is nearly running out.”

“You guys are leaving?” Vanya asks, visibly disappointed.

“We have an apocalypse to prevent,” Sam explains, gesturing for Jack to follow him. Jack misunderstands the signal and takes Sam’s outstretched hand, startling him—but in a good way.

Rowena winks at the disappointed Five. “Yes, but once we’ve finished saving the world for the umpteenth time I don’t think it’ll be too hard to come visit again.”

Diego brightens. “And we can stab the angels more!”

“NO!”

~~~~

“Ugh, I’m bored,” Five gripes, throwing himself backwards on the couch. “There’s nothing to do. No one to kill.” Disappointingly, the Temps Commission has stopped sending more agents after Five, probably realizing he thinks of them merely as dummies to practice his murder skills on.

“You could do your schoolwork,” Klaus informs him. Both brothers make faces immediately. “That was Ben,” he says hastily. “Not me. Don’t do your schoolwork.”

“Wasn’t going to anyway, but thanks,” Five grunts. Maybe if all the blood flow goes to his head he’ll pass out. That’d be a fun way to pass the time.

A loud crack echoes through the mansion, almost like a gunshot, and Five topples off the couch.

“Hello!” someone calls out. “Is anybody home?”

A wide smile stretches across Five’s face. Finally. Someone to kill that can’t die.

“The Winchesters are back!”

Umbrella Academy Taglist:

@fentanvl @deathswretch @lightningidiot @five-hg @iamsnek666 @ameliatrh @ihatecheesyusernames @dora-the-grownup @emilyt0314 @idklol707

Forever Taglist:

@lemirabitur @annymcervantes @queenmissfit @quiet-because-it-is-a-secret @iksey

[neighbours-kid]

CCXP 2019

Or: How Zachary Levi Continues to Be a Blessing

Had anyone told be at the beginning of this year, that I would be going to a comic con, and that I would be meeting Zac again, I’m not sure I would have believed them. But as it so happened, I found out on the last day of early bird sales that Zac would be coming to Cologne to the first ever CCXP on the European continent and I…..I bought tickets immediately.

The last time I saw the man was two years ago in San Diego, where he was hosting SYFY’s Live From ComicCon, which was one of the most amazing weeks of my life. Back then, I finally met so many of my wonderful nerd friends that I had talked to over twitter, and even though NerdHQ was not happening that year, we had a great time around the convention, supporting Zac, dancing our asses off at his parties, going to the auction, and all the other cool stuff we did.

Then last year, I was in New York for six months, during which Zac was filming for Marvellous Mrs Maisel in the city, but since I was busy, and New York is ginormous, I never ran into the man.

I was so excited for Shazam to come out, and just following Zac’s experience with that over twitter and instagram, getting glimpses of the press tour and the conventions he went to over the year, and I was just so happy for everyone who got to see him, for my friends who got to see him again, and it honestly never occurred to me that there is a possibility I could be among the people to see him this year too. I never even considered it.

And then the news came, and I don’t think I really ever hesitated in booking that trip, buying those tickets. I went over my finances real quick, but that was that. And to my luck, or well, thanks to Someone upstairs, I even got to work during my Spring holidays, earn some money, and now that the con is over and I have all my numbers, it honestly pretty much exactly evens out. I spent no more, no less, than the money I earned in that week. Which is incredible all in itself.

When the time finally came to pack my things and hop on a train to Cologne, I was very excited, but also somewhat nervous. It had been quite a moment since I last travelled alone (the last time being my stay abroad in New York, where I had been for six months), and even longer since I had met Zac the last time. But the five hours on the train to Cologne went by unproblematic and I felt great when I arrived at my airbnb. My host was lovely and very forthcoming, and I immediately felt very welcome in the city. I didn’t spend much time at the room, however, and quickly made my way up to the Koelnmesse, where the CCXP was located.

It was Thursday, the first day of con, and it was actually rather empty when I arrived. But that did not particularly bother me, since I am not too fond of big crowds anyway. It gave me a nice opportunity to walk around the grounds in peace, look at the booths, the artists, the exhibitors. I bought some Tony Stark art, sunglasses, some Marvel shirts and a Gryffindor sweater. I took my sweet time just breathing the space in, letting myself relax and fall into the comfortable pace of being at con. In the evening, I went to see a screening of Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman, followed by a Q&A with Michael Uslan, the producer. I’d never seen the movie before, and am honestly not that interested in Batman, but it was really great, and Michael was utterly interesting to listen to.

During my walk home after the panel (which happened because I took a wrong tram and stranded myself somewhere I didn’t intend to be), I somehow found some public wifi and happened upon Zac’s instagram stories. It suddenly dawned on me that we were in the same city again, and that, theoretically, I could bump into him any time. Which, to be honest, I didn’t really know how to wrap my mind around.

I slept good that night, even though I did wake up the next day earlier than expected. But I was exhausted, in a good way. The way experiencing wonderful things makes you tired at the end of the day.

Friday brought with it some more specific plans. I had a photo-op with Ben Barnes first thing, and then wanted to watch some panels (Mark Pellegrino, Fast and Furious, Ben Barnes) spread all over the day. When I got to the con, I went straight to the photo booths to stand in line for my picture. Ben Barnes is a very lovely human being. He was so happy and excited to be there and to meet everyone, and just had a great energy. I had bought a Punisher shirt the day before, and had decided to wear it that day. When I walked into the booth, the first thing Ben did was make shooting motions at me. We talked for a moment about the city and the con, which was really lovely. I think that word really describes Ben very well. Lovely. He is lovely.

After the picture I walked over to where I could collect the print-out, took it over to somewhere I could sit, and just revelled a moment in the feeling of having a great time. Then I looked up to where the signing booth was, and I saw him. Zac was sitting there, signing things for the people in line, a big smile on his face. He was engaging and his joy was contagious. He was his usual passionate self, and I sat there watching him for a moment, and I just had this one thought: “Shit.”

I had not planned on having Zac sign anything. While the con in general was pretty reasonably priced in my opinion, the prices for some of the photo- and signing-ops were rather expensive. I had already booked a picture with Zac for the next day, and I thought that would be enough, I didn’t need him to scribble on anything. But as I was watching him, I couldn’t help myself, and I got up immediately, walked over to where they sold the tickets, and without a second thought bought a ticket for him to sign something. For some reason that morning I had packed my Shazam action figure, and now I knew why. I continued watching him interact with people until it was time for me to get in line too, because watching him was just so…..captivating, in a way. I had already pretty much seen everything of the con, so I didn’t even feel like I was missing out on anything.

I got in line, Shazito in hand, and just continued to take it all in. Benedict Wong was sitting next to him, also signing, also blasting music from his speaker, also being so very lovely. I can’t quite recall if Ben was also there, but he might have been. Or maybe it was Mark Pellegrino. I can’t remember.

As the line started to move, I started to get giddy. Would the man even remember me? I mean, it had been two years. Sure, we had interacted a bit over twitter, but that was that. And honestly, I didn’t expect him to. He meets so many people all the time, why would/should he remember me?

The line moved further, a staffer came to take our names for Zac, so he would write them properly. The person in front of me moved up, and I think that was when I started smiling like a big idiot. Zac turned to talk to Wong while the person in front of me was taking her stuff and moving away, so I stepped up to the table while Zac wasn’t looking. The staffer put the post-it with my name on the table, which got Zac’s attention, and he turned to look at me. If a facial expression can be described as “lighting up like a candle” then that is what his face did. Recognition. Big smile. Oh hey you! Gets up, walks around the table to where he could step closer to me, and squeeze-hugs me for a solid half minute at least.

Why should he remember me? Well, I don’t fucking know, but he did. For some reason. And honestly, it’s just so very him, so absolutely typical. Anyway, he sat down again, asked me how I was doing, how I was enjoying the con. We were having a lovely conversation, he signed my Shazam figure (which I presented to him with the words, “I have a butt for you to sign”), and when he felt he couldn’t possibly stretch the time any longer by carefully signing his name on the plastic butt, playfully jabbing at Wong about the music, asking me about Switzerland and where I was from exactly, he got up again, walked around the table, and gave me another hug. Once he let me go, I told him again, just how very happy it made me to still see that golden chain around his neck, and he smiled, telling me that there would come a day he would give it away, just like I did. But I knew that already, and it doesn’t change anything about how it makes me feel. As I was walking away, he asked me if I was around the other days, with genuine interest, and I told him I’d see him again for a picture the next day, which got me another one of those smiles.

It is save to say that when I walked back to a table to sit down and take that all in, I was just….blown away. Again. Just like the last two times I met him. Zac is just an inherently good person and I’ve never really met anyone who gives a shit as much as he does. I really haven’t. He has made every single time I met him a very special experience that I won’t ever forget. The man just knows how to make you feel seen and heard.

I think it took me a moment, to get up again from where I was sitting, and remembering what I wanted to do next. I was still just looking at the figure in my hand with the signature on it, and trying to remember everything that had just happened. Once I did get my mind back to the present, I went around the whole con again, looked at some more booths, bought some more things, and ultimately went to the Mark Pellegrino panel. I don’t watch Supernatural and I am not actually entirely sure I’ve ever seen Mark in anything, but I knew of him, and was interested to see what kinda person he is (—actually, I just checked. He was on two episodes of Chuck and was also in single episodes of some other shows that I watched).

Mark’s panel was fully moderated, but it was nevertheless very interesting. They did talk mostly about Supernatural, Mark’s time on set and how it was working with Jensen and Jared. The panel ended with Mark singing the first verse of Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin, which was honestly very beautiful. The man can sing.

Mark’s panel was followed by a quick appearance of Idris Elba and Jason Statham, who were interviewed quickly, presented us the newest trailer for Hobbs & Shaw, and we then even got to see some exclusive footage, presented by a video message from The Rock. After that, I wandered around the con for a bit more, before I went back to the panel room to see MinaLima, the studio that did all the graphics design work on both Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts. Their work is incredibly interesting, and it was wonderful listening to them talk about their experience working on those films and just their whole process. Utterly fascinating stuff. I stuck around after that to see Ben Barnes’ panel. He was, again, very lovely. He talked a bit about Punisher and working with Jon Bernthal, but also got to answer some fan questions from the audience, which I always think is a lot of fun, because it immediately makes a panel so much more personal and interesting.

Going back to my airbnb that night I was elevated. I had a wonderful day, I saw Zac again and had a lovely time with him, and just saw some great stuff all around con. I had talked to some woman who recognised me from the signing booth, bought some more Iron Man things, and also another Harry Potter sweater. But, obviously, Zac had been my absolute highlight of the day.

Saturday was a lot more unplanned than Friday. I had the picture with Zac mid-afternoon, but other than that, I didn’t really have much I wanted to do. There weren’t really any panels I was interested in, and I had already seen pretty much every thing at the con. So I decided to get myself a coffee and a croissant, and just do some people watching. I saw a cosplayer, dressed as a Stormtrooper, hanging out with a Luigi and Mario, taking pictures in front of the kid’s bouncy castle. He also had a red balloon tied to his back, from the IT 2 booth.

Once I got bored of just looking at people, I face-timed the whole con, then found out Zac would be doing an interview in the glass box and maybe come out and talk to some people, and made my way over to that area. Zac arrived, did the interview — which was lovely and you all can find here — and then quickly came down to us and gave high-fives, since he didn’t have much time because his photo session began immediately after the interview. The photo session, that I had to line up for. Once I was in line, I got that giddiness again, that I already felt the day before. I was thinking about what I wanted our picture to look like, what kinda pose I could make him do — I had some ideas, but I couldn’t decide — and watched how the people in front of me came out after the picture, big smiles on their faces. That’s Zac for you right there. Meeting him won’t leave people unchanged.

The line moved forward, and I could see into the booth, watch how the people in front of me took pictures with Zac. So many lovely pictures, big smiles, silly poses, pointing at funny shirts and great cosplay. The usual, you know. When it was my turn, the staffer managing everything told me to go in, Zac’s friend put my bags on the chair for me, and I went in. And there he was, dancing to his music, having a grand old time. And again, just like the day before, he looked at me and his face lit up like a candle, a big smile on his face, another Oh hey, Alex! with that joyful recognition that I just don’t really know how to deal with.

With a c’mere he put his arm around me and squeezed me tight, leaning into me, and we both looked at the camera. He stayed close until the screen showed the picture and he deemed it perfect. And it was. None of the poses I had thought of before in line could’ve ever come close to what I had now. He asked me again, just like the day before, if I was enjoying myself, then gave me high-fives and started dancing again, waiting for the next in line. I took my stuff, left the booth and wandered over to the photo collection booth in a daze. Once I had the picture in my hands, I sat down somewhere, just staring at that photo. I think I must’ve been staring at it for a very long time, in a sort of disbelief, remembering the other pictures I had of us, and how none of them even compare to this. It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.

I took a picture of it with my phone, and sent it to my friends who knew that I would be doing that today, and also changed my twitter profile picture to it. The next time I checked my phone, all my friends who knew the man started flipping their shit about how adorable this picture is. They were delighted and joined in my joy about this picture. I have treasured every moment I got to spend with Zac up until now, and I will treasure this one too. It makes me so incredibly happy, I can’t even begin to tell you.

I left the con pretty soon after that, since I had already seen pretty much everything, and didn’t really have any interest in the panels of the day. But before I left, I stopped by Elbenwald again, buying a Gryffindor scarf for myself, because I knew that if I didn’t, I would ultimately regret it. I made my way back to my airbnb in staggering heat, relaxed for a moment, and then went out again, deciding that I would do some touristing around the city. I went over to the cathedral — which is absolutely stunning, you guys, it’s just gorgeous —, explored the place around it, and took a bit of a walk by the water. I sat in the shade for a while, watching the people, watching the water, and just revelling in the good feeling of experiencing cool things and going interesting places, until I could feel the exhaustion of the heat and the walking. So I slowly made my way back, decided to cross the river over the bridge by foot (and saw all the love locks), and just took my time, breathing in the summer air and the freedom that came with it. Summer has always been my season, even though I bitch about the heat too much, and with it comes a feeling of freedom and opportunity that I always miss in the colder months.

I got home earlier that day than I did all the others, since I didn’t stay at the con, which usually closes at 9pm. And despite the heat, I slept wonderful, which, considering the day I’d had, is not a surprise at all.

My plan for Sunday looked like this: arrive at con by opening time, go to the very first panel immediately, and sit in the panel room all day until Zac’s panel at 4:30pm, sneaking my way into the front row when people leave after the panels before that. And that is exactly what I did. Lucky for me, the panel room had a bathroom and a snack bar, so I had everything I needed.

I went to the first panel which was a Game of Thrones “double feature” with first Mark Spindler, from the VFX team, having a presentation about his work, and especially creating the dragons like Drogon, and his experience working on the HBO show, and then with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who was interviewed, but also answered some fan questions. It’s save to say, that the panel room was absolutely full to the brink. He was the star of this con. Nikolaj is an interesting guy, even though I felt like the panel over all felt a bit awkward. But I’ve had that impression with all the moderated panels, so maybe it’s the language barrier between English speaking guests and native German speaking moderators. Who knows.

After the Game of Thrones panel, a lot of people vacated the room, and I was able to make my way into the front row immediately after that. I went to the bathroom, got myself some nachos, and settled in for a day full of panels. I cannot even begin to tell you how much my butt hurt after that day. But anyway, after Nikolaj, followed a panel with cosplay stars from all over the world, talking about their craft and their experiences, with some fan questions in between. After that came a Batman 80th Anniversary panel, with comic artists Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, David Finch, and Brian Azzarello. I am not particularly interested in Batman, but it was quite fascinating anyway.

I watched with a very pleased grin how the crew started clearing away chairs on the stage until only one was left, which gave me the very confirmation I had been waiting for: Zac would self-moderate his panel, which meant fan Q&A all the way, like he usually does it, like he loves it. I had been worrying all through the con, watching most other panels be moderated, that his would be too. But I was glad to be proven wrong. Vanessa came out to introduce our man, and when he came out, the energy in the room just changed to something akin to what I felt at NerdHQ. Lots of love. (He also, before even sitting down, before even fully arriving, spotted be in the front row and went Oh hi, Alex, how you doin’? straight into the microphone. I may or may not have felt some emotions about that.) Vanessa manned the microphone, and Zac went in full swing, already spreading so much joy just by being there.

His panel was absolutely lovely, as they always are. His energy is palpable, you can just feel his passion and love for this kind of stuff, and it just oozes out of him. He answered question after question, went on tangents and down rabbit holes, laughed and sang, joked and entertained both himself and us. He was talking about going to conventions at some point and came to talk about NerdHQ, during which he enquired who had been to the event before, and managed to phrase the question, “Besides [Name of Girl who asked the question which I can’t remember I’m so sorry*] and Alex, who’s been to NerdHQ?”, which again, emotions. But anyway. I had been looking out for Vanessa all through the panel, always holding my hand up to ask a question, and finally got to ask one. When I got up, he greeted me again with name and everything, and at that point I was just taking it. I asked him about his dream. He had been asked that question two years ago at DragonCon, and I asked him how it was looking, if he was still working on that, if anything came to it, or if he abandoned parts of it. I just wanted him to talk about his plans for life a bit. And he did. He gave a long, wonderfully beautiful answer, and honestly, the man’s eye contact is super intense, and it just meant the world to me that he took the time to elaborate on his ideas and plans and wishes and dreams. I just wanted to show everyone in that room who exactly I knew Zac to be, and he delivered. I have not found any footage from that panel online yet, but if I do, I will link it here as well.

(*This is me not remembering the name, and not Zac. Zac knew the name. He always knows the names.)

After the absolute high of that panel, I thought nothing could go wrong. I would make my way to the train station, where I would get my bags that I had already brought there in the morning, then I would board my train, and just relax for five hours on that journey, until I would be home around midnight. Well. As, apparently, per usual, that did not happen. Just like so many other trips I had, this one ended in absolute disaster as well. My train in Cologne got cancelled, I got sent around from one station to the other, ultimately ended up in a completely over filled train, had to change trains five times, had to sit on the floor in one of them, and finally arrived back in Bern at 1.30am. No busses or trams were running at that time anymore, getting a cab in Switzerland is one of the most expensive things you can do, and Uber or Lyft does not exist here. So I had to walk. From the train station, to my home, with my no-wheels sports bag, and all my other bags. I arrived home, completely drenched in sweat, absolutely exhausted, with shoulders so tense and overworked that I had bruises the next morning, at 2.30am. I was just so done.

But, I don’t want to dwell on such a negative note, and finish this post with some more words. I am so grateful that I get to experience such cool things. I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to go to these conventions and meet such amazing people like Zac. I feel so humbled by it, and I am eternally grateful that I got to meet Zac again and make such great memories, yet again. I’ve been following this man’s career for seven years now, and I don’t regret a single minute of it. I found him during a time where I was only just becoming the person I am today, and it is save to say that he had some formative influence in that. It’s save to say, that because of his example, I am a better, kinder, more unabashedly passionate person today than I was before. God has used Zac to inspire me, to show me things I never thought possible, and to keep reassuring me that he has plans for me. And I am so incredibly grateful for all of that.

Going to Cologne, going to CCXP has been a wonderful experience for me, and should Zac make it back there again, the chance is pretty big that you’ll find me there as well.

But for now, I am back home, and remembering all these beautiful moments with fondness, and revelling in the knowledge that somewhere, sometime in the future, I’ll likely get to do something like this again.

Until then, I’ll be here. Writing. Remembering.

[andimthedad]

Road Trip: Oh, the Places You’ll Go

On our 10,000-mile road trip, we saw dozens of sights and stopped in more than 30 states. Along the way, we marked our route and several stops on a fold-out paper map, above. Here’s a list of almost everything...

Lolo Pass, Idaho: historical site in the Bitterroot Mountains where Lewis and Clark passed during their explorations.

Berkeley Pit Mine, Berkeley, Montana: one of the largest and most expensive Superfund pollution sites in America.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming: Mammoth Hot Springs, Old Faithful, wild bison, and more at America’s first national park.

Medicine Wheel, Big Horn National Forest, Wyoming: a Native American religious site, thousands of years old and still used today.

Crazy Horse Memorial, Crazy Horse, South Dakota: still carving a mountain into the likeness of the famous warrior.

Ken’s Minerals & Trading Post, Custer, South Dakota: a nice rock shop where we probably bought too much.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Keystone, South Dakota: four stony-faced presidents carved into a mountain.

Wall Drug Store, Wall, South Dakota: famous for its free ice water and legions of billboards.

Badlands National Park, Rapid City, South Dakota: beautiful and alien landscapes, all at the same time.

Prairie Homestead, Philip, South Dakota: a preserved frontier house made out of sod.

Dignity Statue, Chamberlain, South Dakota: a 50-foot-tall Native American woman.

World’s Only Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota: where people nail corn cobs to the wall as art.

Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota: the largest shopping mall in America, and one of the largest in the world.

Cady Cheese, Wilson, Wisconsin: yummy cheese made here (and, in our case, consumed here).

Chicago, Illinois: the Sears/Willis Tower, Lake Michigan, Cloud Gate, Buckingham Fountains, Chicago-style pizza, elevated trains, and more.

Grand Rapids, Michigan: to visit relatives.

Flint, Michigan: site of a serious water crisis that symbolizes all kinds of issues around government, racism, and economics.

Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan: highlights all kinds of positive Ford achievements, and included a tour of the nearby Rouge plant that produces F-150 trucks.

Cudell Recreation Center, Cleveland, Ohio: site where Tamir Rice, a black child, was murdered by a white cop a few years ago; a memorable example in the debates around police brutality.

Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pennsylvania: beautiful beaches overlooking Lake Erie.

Niagara Falls, New York: amazing waterfall experiences at America’s first state park.

Schenectady, New York: to visit relatives.

Hogback Mountain, Vermont: saw the so-called “100 mile view”.

Maine: from Portland’s Commercial and Exchange Streets, to whale watching in Boothbay Harbor, to beaches, to all kinds of seafood… and side trips to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and more. Saw a lot of relatives too.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield, Massachusetts: honoring the masters of the game at its birthplace.

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut: we drove through the campus, so the kids can now say they went to Yale.

Jersey City, New Jersey: to visit relatives.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: climbing the “Rocky Steps” and enjoying genuine Philly Cheesesteak.

Washington, DC: the White House; monuments to Lincoln and Washington; memorials for World War II and Vietnam; the Holocaust Museum; the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum; the Museum of the Bible; the U.S. Capitol; and more.

Rotunda, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia: Thomas Jefferson’s historic building at the university he founded.

Claudia Sanders Dinner House, Shelbyville, Kentucky: the original KFC.

Farmington Historic Plantation, Louisville, Kentucky: owned by the Speed family, who had ties to Lincoln, Jefferson, and Washington.

Kentucky Derby Museum, Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky: learning about the legends of the sport, as well as the money.

Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Missouri: as seen from the Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park, East St. Louis, Illinois.

Pappy’s Smokehouse, St. Louis, Missouri: considered by some to be the best BBQ ribs in the country.

Percival, Iowa: a farm community representative of flooding that has plagued the Midwest this year.

Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Omaha, Nebraska: the world’s biggest zoo did not disappoint.

World’s Largest Ball of Twine, Cawker City, Kansas: yep.

Pike’s Peak, Cascade, Colorado: one of the most famous mountains in America, and at 14,000+ feet, the highest we’ve ever been outside of an airplane.

Mesa Verde National Park, Mesa Verde, Colorado: amazing cliffside homes built almost a thousand years ago by Native Americans.

Four Corners Monument, Teec Nos Pos, Arizona: where you can stand (or sit, or bounce a ball) in four states at once.

Arches National Park, Moab, Utah: beautiful, alien rock formations.

Moab Isolation Center Ruins, Moab, Utah: site of a Japanese internment concentration camp during World War II.

Dinosaur Quarry Visitor Center, Jensen, Utah: seeing and touching the fossils of giant dinosaurs, still embedded in the ground.

Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah: Mormon HQ.

Great Salt Lake State Park, Magna, Utah: the city’s namesake, and some of the saltiest water on earth.

ATK Rocket Garden, Northrop Grumman, Corinne, Utah: examples of various rockets and missiles, including Space Shuttle booster engine parts.

As I emphasized to the kids over and over, we are only seeing a glimpse of everything. We could spend a week or more visiting many of these places.

We also stopped in all of the following states, including our beginning and end:

Washington

Idaho

Montana

Wyoming

South Dakota

Minnesota

Iowa

Wisconsin

Illinois

Indiana

Michigan

Ohio

Pennsylvania

New York

Vermont

New Hampshire

Maine

Massachusetts

Connecticut

New Jersey

Maryland

Delaware

Washington, DC

Virginia

West Virginia

Kentucky

Missouri

Nebraska

Kansas

Colorado

Utah

Oregon

Does DC count as a separate state? Maybe.  The kids did their trip activities there. And if you want to count New Mexico and Arizona from our visit to Four Corners, then we’re up to 34 states... though the kids did not do their activities there.

We didn’t go to North Dakota, choosing South Dakota instead for our eastbound trip.  And we didn’t realize it until it was too late, but we completely forgot about visiting Rhode Island. Sorry, Rhode Islanders!  Ironically, it is the only state that actually has the sound of “road” in its name.

Of course, as I asked in one of the FAQs... Does It Really Count As “Visiting” A State If You Only Drive Through A Little Piece Of It? 

--

Read notes from every day of the road trip:

Eastward: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Westward: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

And various posts from the FAQ.

[archivingspn]

NY Times: “Eternal Life, Thanks to Angels and Abs”

(...) It’s about the hair. Between takes at the seedy-motel location — an actual seedy motel here, about 40 minutes south of Vancouver, just above the American border — several young women trot out and run their fingers through the hair of the stars, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. “The way my hair is, if I get out of the shower and put a beanie on or something, it just kind of lays,” said Mr. Padalecki, whose leonine tresses are one of the show’s trademarks. “But it doesn’t lay well for the camera, because it’ll cover” — he gestures to his face — “the thing.” Mr. Ackles, whose laugh is like the crack of the show’s magic Colt revolver, said, “I’m fairly certain that that mop is solely responsible for the 10th-season pickup.”

It’s about the brothers. Mr. Ackles and Mr. Padalecki play Dean and Sam Winchester, brothers with a family tradition of demon hunting. Mr. Ackles was 26 and Mr. Padalecki 22 when the show began, and they are “Supernatural” — conversations with co-stars, show runners and network and studio presidents always come around to Jensen and Jared, Jared and Jensen. In the motel parking lot, through endless takes in the February chill, they set the tone, joking with the crew, then discussing with the director how to block a scene in which they’re thrown against their black 1967 Impala by the flick of an angel’s finger. “At the end of the day we have a very good understanding that a lot of it comes down to he and I, and how we relate to each other on- and off-screen,” Mr. Ackles said. “That was impressed upon us very early on by Eric Kripke,” the show’s creator. “He sat us down the first episode and said, ‘Listen, guys, this begins and ends with you.’ ”

It’s about Joseph Campbell. And masculinity. Misha Collins plays the naïve but deadly angel Castiel, the Winchesters’ mascot and fellow warrior. He studied social theory at the University of Chicago and worked in the Clinton White House and he’s a very smart man, so we should probably listen: “The show deals with universally appealing mythology story lines, the kind of stuff that Joseph Campbell would be proud to see on television,” he said, “but grounds it in personal relationships.” “It’s really a show about boys becoming men,” he added. “It’s about manhood and these guys who vacillate between testosterone-infused knife fights and gun battles and then crying on one another’s shoulders, having their intimate brotherhood-of-men moments. And I think that’s something you don’t see that much of on television.”

And angels. “It used to be about guys on the road hunting urban legends,” Mr. Padalecki said, referring to the first four or five seasons sketched out by Mr. Kripke, who pitched the show as “Route 66” meets “The X-Files.” “And then angels came in,” he added, and that annoyed them. “We’re like: ‘We didn’t sign up for a religious show. I don’t want to make a statement on angels. I came to do “X-Files.” ’ But it’s kept on finding new ground.” Robert Singer, the series’s longtime show runner, said: “The biggest tipping point was the introduction of angels. It seemed to be a natural place to go once we’d gone so far into demon stories.”

It’s about Netflix. As with many other shows these days, everyone involved credits online streaming of past seasons for increasing current viewership. “We’ve had a real jump in teenagers who are watching the show,” Mr. Singer said. “They were 5 or 6 when it started, and they didn’t know the show from Adam. The fact that they can go back and see it from the beginning and get themselves invested to watch it now is a big thing.”

It’s about beefcake. Mr. Padalecki is 6-foot-5, Mr. Ackles is 6 feet, and together they are, as Mr. Padalecki puts it, “400 pounds of dude.” Misha Collins said, “Yeah, I think we would be lying to ourselves if we weren’t admitting that that’s an aspect of this dynamic.” The Winchesters politely demur. Mr. Padalecki: “As flattering as that is, out of 190 episodes I think I’ve taken my shirt off less than 10 times.” Mr. Ackles: “We probably keep our clothes on more than any other show on this network.” But what the heck. “If people watch because Jensen’s handsome or they like my hair, and then they say, ‘This is a really cool show, they really put their heart and soul into this and I’ll tune in again,’ fine,” Mr. Padalecki said. “Whatever gets them in the seats, right?”

It’s about the fans. Whether it’s angels, abs or both, the cast members spend part of every summer break traveling around the world to “Supernatural” fan conventions. “When we go to São Paulo for a convention and there are 50 people camped out on the hotel doorstep just waiting to get a glimpse of us,” Mr. Collins said, “and when we go into the halls and there are 1,500 or 2,000 people and the screaming will be so deafening we have to cover our ears — it’s like we have this one moment where you can feel like you’re a Beatle. And then you get to go about your normal life the rest of the year.” Not all fans are content simply to attend conventions. Some of them want to take a hand in the story, and their fan fiction can explore areas mostly untouched on the show, like the latent homoerotic suggestiveness of the Winchesters’ intense relationship. Asked if he reads any of this material, Mr. Ackles said: “I don’t. I know it’s out there, and I’m, I’m — the people that have asked me about it are well aware that I would rather not know about that.”

It’s about humility. The Winchesters — that is, Mr. Ackles and Mr. Padalecki — are enthusiastic and accommodating interview subjects, seeking out a reporter at every break to talk up their underdog show, finishing each other’s sentences, always agreeing. They reflect their characters, or vice versa: Mr. Ackles is the quiet, watchful older brother, keeping an eye on the eagerly talkative Mr. Padalecki. Jensen: “We both had strong fathers who instilled a good work ethic in us.” Jared: “And I think a gratitude for the work. And there’s certainly times — ” Jensen: “A respect — ” Jared: “A respect for everybody — ” Jensen: “And humble.” Jared: “There have been times when I’ve let myself get overwhelmed with, ‘Oh, I feel so overworked.’ And Ackles has been like: ‘Dude. Remember.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh yeah.’ ”

It’s about the future. “Supernatural” is projected to hit the 200-episode milestone next season; a pilot for a spinoff series, “Supernatural: Bloodlines,” will be shown April 29. How long can the magic last? “As long as these numbers keep up, and as long as these guys want to do it, ‘Supernatural’ will stay on the air,” said Mark Pedowitz, president of CW. If he doesn’t keep the promise, there’s a 12-inch angel dagger with his name on it.

[source]

[legion1993]

Soulmate at long last i found you

A.N: this is for week 2 of Supernatural Hiatus Writing Challenge drawn up by @thing-you-do-with-that-thing  though for the purpose of this magnificant piece of work Danneel, Justice, Zepplin, & Arrow do not exist Jensen is single though we love Danneel and their little family.  this is a little longer than i imagined but it will be a good read none the less. give it some love if it made your day.

Prompt:  “Are we completely sure that’s how it’s supposed to look?”

Pairing: Jensen x Female Reader

Plot: set at a San Diego Comic Con you leave your best friend back home for the weekend to go to the convention but you enter the hall with not the intention of finding your soulmate, your world came tumbling in as you found and discovered your purpose in life by going through the convention like normal being constantly reminded by the burning mark ever present on your arm… YOUR SOULMATE WAS THERE BUT YOU NEVER GUESSED IN A MILLION YEARS WHO YOU WOULD HAVE ENDED UP WITH….

Genre: SOULMATE

It felt like just yesterday, you met HIM the one your soulmate, but you didn`t expect it to be Jensen Ackles of all people. you met him at the San Diego comic con you felt it necessary to go that year not just because you wanted to but because you had a feeling that something good was about to happen.

--------------------- 4 years ago-------------------

you knew that this was gonna be an amazing weekend for you, as you got into your car and turned up your playlist you started towards the convention. of course, your heart did a little leap when you parked the car at the hotel. you booked your room but you ignored the thousands upon thousands of fan girls crowding you, yes you had been to a few of these big shows before but this was your first trip to the San Diego Comic Con.

you went to the elevator and up to the 8th floor and went to your room. the manager had been gracious enough to give you a suite with a balcony and a jacuzzi you were sure you would use it. you got into your Supernatural jewelry and your shirt change to a tank top, your long jeans had changed to your fave leather skirt and your runners stayed on cause you didn’t want blisters this weekend.

then you grabbed your all access pass and your key and your wallet cased phone leaving your hotel room you once again walked off to another convention. this time when you saw the convention center where it was being held your heart skipped a few beats your mouth went dry and a mark appeared on your arm.

you went into the center and found the washroom looking at your arm you pulled out your phone and called your best friend who unfortunately couldn’t attend the convention with you cause she had a huge exam coming up for her university course and elected to stay behind and study.

“dude we got a problem my soul mate he is here at the convention the mark that appeared the last time we were at a convention with supernatural stars in it the mark had appeared briefly but now it’s not leaving does this mean my soulmate is here”

you could hear your friend laughing at you,

“YN yes that is exactly what it means but don’t worry if you find him just make sure you bring him home first before you marry him... but I got to go my honey just got home. love you let me know when you find him...”

with that the call was done it was short and sweet and you loved her so much but you were worried what if he didn’t know you were here... then you felt a stinging from your mark, “omg he knows I’m in the building, well it’s time to face the music let’s do this...”

you pulled your courage, straightened your pass, and exited the bathroom with a purpose with a skip in your stride you felt your mark burn ever so slightly the closer you got to the main hall, you hoped your missing autographs would be there.

you walked into the hall and smiled seeing the hustle and bustle of everyone it made you happy. but you felt your heart stop causing you to stop in your tracks, your soulmate he was near but where was he, who was he... you bumped into someone and you turned around immediately only to find that you were now staring at Jared Padalecki.

you pulled back a bit and apologized, “omg Jared Padalecki, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to do that”

he laughed and then caught wind of the mark on your arm, “excuse me I don’t mean to be rude but you have the same mark on your arm as someone else I know umm I’m sorry what’s your name”

you giggled and smiled, “my name is Y/F&L/N what do you have in mind for an idea to get us both in the same room”

Jared just smiled at you, “come with me ill text him as we head to the back room he has been saying his soulmate has been here for the last few hours. now I know why cause you were.”

Jared took out his phone and hit call, “Jay meet me in the backroom I found your soulmate... I’m heading there with her now.”

you couldn’t hear anything but you kept tight grip of your merch bags as you followed Jared closely watching as the guards argued with Jared when they stopped him from bringing me thru but with some hard convincing you were let thru.

you knew your friend was never gonna believe you without some hard evidence, Jared Padalecki knows your soulmate.  you were for sure gonna have alot of explaining to do but it was only the first day of the convention. you were sure the rest of the weekend was gonna be just as good.

you and Jared arrived in the back room and about 5 minutes you waited, the door opened and you heard a voice a very familiar voice. “dude is that her well she looks good from the back...” you heard Jared laugh as he said, “dude don’t worry I’m not blind you know she is so much like you. hey YN come over here and meet my friend”

you turned around and smiled as your eyes connected with Jensen Ackles your eyes shone and Jensen approached you with a smile on his face, “I felt like I couldn’t breathe till now. I’m happy to be meeting you YN. Jared get Richard I think he should know before the fans find out.”

Jared left the room with a giddy smile on his face as he shut the door catching only a small glimpse of Jensen leaning in to kiss YN. Jared knew that when he got back they would either still be kissing or they would be cuddled up somewhere.

Jensen Ackles was kissing you, your brain was attempting to process what was currently happening. you were making out with Jensen Ackles it was amazing, your arm burned which made you yelp.

“sorry Jensen, it’s just my mark is burning... what does this mean.” Jensen smiled and moved to sit on the chair and moved you to sit on his lap, “it means you have found your other half and you are now whole.”

suddenly the door opened and in walked Jared with Richard Speight Jr, you kept your forehead attached to Jensen’s as he sighed, “well I think this means I am gonna need my own space boys…” Richard who now was as happy as could be, “Jay my man you did it your hooked for this young woman I’m sure this weekend wasn’t planning on finding her soulmate let alone finding out it was her biggest hero. Though I have to ask dear where r u from?”

All you could do was smile, you were so happy right now you weren’t even thinking about what you were about to say, “Y/H/T, I drove over here to see the convention because it was one of the only conventions I had never been too before plus I hoped this was my chance to get the autographs for all of/most of the supernatural cast.”

Jensen smiled as he planted a small kiss to your forehead, but Jared cleared his throat and said, “jay the panel will be starting soon, Richard is there anyway that jay and YN won’t have to be separated or what are you thinking?” Richard looked at you and Jensen and smiled ever so slightly, “I have an idea but it’s a longshot that it will even work… Jensen how would you like the fans to find out about this new found love you have found?”

Jensen got up holding onto you closely, he couldn’t bare risking anything happening to you. “Richard I think we need to let the fans know about this, but in a special way make your announcements rich I need to brief YN on a few things before we go out there. I mean I’m sure she knows how the panel works but she will need to understand what happens out there will change her life forever…”

Jensen smiled as you put your finger to his lips and said, “I knew that this weekend was gonna change my life from the moment I stepped into my car to get here don’t worry I can handle anything plus if someone take pictures I can send it to my best friend or jay and I can go back and she could see it for herself… I mean if you want…”

You said as you turned your gaze to Jensen who simply smiled, “guys I guess I’m taking a vacation with my girl and we will meet you guys back in Vancouver. But first let’s do this panel and make this announcement rich do your thing.”

Richard, Jared, Jensen and you all exited the room and while Richard went out to announce the panel there was a calm that washed over you and Jensen. Then after the crowd died down you guys all heard this, “good day ladies and gentlemen boys and girls I’m Richard Speight Jr and yes I will also be apart of this panel but today we not only have J2 and J2M but one of our lucky panel members has an announcement but that will be for him to announce to you all himself. Let’s give a big round of applause for Jared Padalecki and for Jensen Ackles.”

From the moment Jensen left your grasp you felt a little happier, but you weren’t far from him. “Misha will be joining us later but right now I turn it over to these guys as I too join the table.”

You watched as Richard joined the table and then you smiled realizing Jensen was rubbing his mark to try and soothe you. But you smiled more feeling a little nervous, while you heard Jensen laugh as he said, “how’s everyone doing today?” the crowd just cheered making the room feel a lot louder than it should as Jensen laughed,

“alright so as Richard said something happened to one of us today and well that person was me see this morning when I entered this room to set up for the panel a mark appeared on my arm one that I could only tell was my soulmate, she is here today and I had the honor of spending some time with her already and right now I wish to present her to you for she is my other half, ladies and gentlemen give it up for YN…”

Jensen came over to you and held his hand towards you and from the moment you stepped foot on the panel floor your previous life was forgotten. Well sort of I mean you weren’t fully gonna forget it but you knew whatever happened next was gonna be epic. Jensen and you did a little mini Q/A during the panel discussing what you both wanted for this new adventure and being asked for a photo worthy kiss.

------------2 YEARs & 6 MONTHS LATER-----------

You forgot how hard it was to move, you forgot how much stuff you had accumulated while living between your parents’ home and with your best friend but now you had your soulmate and it was the final moving day for you and Jensen as you both along with most of the SPN cast & crew unloaded boxes furniture and more boxes but eventually it was all unloaded and it was time to sit and relax you guys had the bodyguards putting together the bed frame and headrest as you both agreed to get a new bed so it was entirely your own.

At this point after much consideration you both had ordered in Chinese with triple orders of chicken balls and dry ribs and rice, you couldn’t have been any happier. Then as you and Jensen ate you continued to unpack some boxes, you found a box that had a bunch of pictures and posters in it you knew that it was gonna feel right after putting them up so you and Jensen created a mural of the month and the day you met on the big wall above the fire place with a poster of your first public photographed kiss at that San Diego Comic Con.

You both centered it in the middle of the date and you both fell back on the couch and smiled, “Are we completely sure that’s how it’s supposed to look?” you said as Jensen pulled you to rest your head in his lap, “well it looks good like that I mean it would have still yet taken us weeks to find a good spot for that but making this mural was a wonderful idea babe… do you think we can have that talk now the one that you said we could have after we finished moving?”

You looked up at Jensen and smiled, “of course I mean we are just sitting here on OUR couch looking at OUR mural so yes we can have that talk now… what was it you wanted to discuss with me?”

Jensen moved to remove his shirt and you didn’t object cause it was something he did every single night and you loved it. “YN I love you I love everything about you I especially love the way your eyes sparkle. You couldn’t have picked a better time to come to the SDCC but now we have been together for 2 YEARS & 6 MONTHS and well I feel like it is the right time for another upgraded step.”

Jensen reached behind him on the table and placed in front of you a small black box with a 24k Diamond Ring with a silver band inside it, “YN will you make me even happier and marry me, I mean you have changed me in more ways than I can ever have hoped for but I know you feel something changing too… so will you marry me?”

You weren’t sure if your voice would betray you or not but you spoke anyway, “yes yes yes of course I will Jay I love you…” you started kissing him when all the sudden you heard the sound of clapping and cheering, you both turned around and saw everyone from the cast to the crew, you both knew it was gonna be a chaotic next year…

And man were you both right…

------- 4 MONTHS LATER-------

Jensen and you were taking a mini vacation like being told to take a rest from all the wedding planning and go on a mini road trip somewhere course you both choose LA cause why not… while there you both had some WILD moments things were heated and you both barely left your hotel room.

One morning around 2:30am you rushed to the bathroom and upchucked anything that would have been in your stomach was now gone. With that you pulled out your little toiletries bag and searched for the one thing you knew your best friend in the whole world had put in there… you held on to it and then waited for the results… after 2 minutes you looked at it…

You took the results and went in the bedroom you shoke Jensen lightly, “Jay Jay, wake up I think something happened and we have only been here a month…” Jensen now sort of awake turned on the lamp smiling when he saw the test and results in your hand, “YN is that what I think it is?” you nodded now slightly crying, “are we gonna be parents???” you nodded more cause your words weren’t coming out and Jensen took the test from you placing it on the table he cuddle you close and you bursted into tears, “we are gonna be parents YN we are gonna bring a baby into this world. But when should we tell the others…”

---------1 week later---------

You and Jensen arrived back home still keeping close the results and unloading the SUV you hummed. Jensen carried the suitcase while you carried in most of the groceries and stuff. “damn jay we brought back a lot of souvenirs…”

Within moments you both were greeted by your best friend running towards you in a giant hug with knocked you both onto the couch and you teared up again… “Y/F/N I can’t believe you would do such a thing… scaring me like that actually no I’m happy you’re here it will be so much easier to tell you the exciting news in person at dinner tonight I mean Jared and Gen are coming for dinner too so ya… umm Jay can you take our suitcase upstairs and unpack the toiletry bags and please. Y/F/N can you help me make dinner…”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing as she followed you into the kitchen, “ok girl spill what’s so secretive I mean Jensen was moving like he didn’t want to leave your side I mean it’s like that with most soul mates but you and Jensen seem different…” you didn’t know what to say and you wanted to tell everyone together, “let’s just say for now girl that LA was definitely a time I will never forget..”

She gave you a look like she wanted to hear more but she knew you were stubborn and that you weren’t gonna say anything till everyone was here. She showed you what she had done per to the instructions you had given her to start on for dinner and for about half an hour you and your best friend wandered your kitchen spinning eachother at each turn and throwing the bird in the oven to slow cook for the next few hours.

Over time you both got emerced with wedding details sealing the invites your bestie offering to run them to the mail box when she and her beau went to get the drinks for tonight. Well that left you and Jensen alone for a few moments, you curled up to him on the couch, his hands stroking your belly with the future baby Ackles inside and you were in awe.

Once your friend got back, Jared and his family arrived as well, but it was still a little bit to dinner. Jensen had offered to help you with the bird giving Gen a chance to do clothing measurements for your Maid of Honor and Jared, Gen had offered to sew your wedding party dresses and then to help you pick yours online and do any alterations and such.

You felt connected to Gen from the moment you met her, Jensen came up behind you while you were cutting potatoes, wrapping his arms around your waist he smiles kissing your neck softly, “you know someone like you could really get someone like me all frisky…” he whispered in your ear making you smile, “babe you know heated you making me right now?” he only smiled answering your question as there it became apparent that everything was perfect.

Finally, it was time to sit and eat, you and Jensen sat at the head of the table, Jared and gen sat on the right, while your friend and her beau sat on the left Jensen grabbed you a soda out of the fridge when he grabbed his beer, everyone was curious why you weren’t drinking.

Jensen got up to speak, “we are all gathered today to celebrate not only the marriage between me and YN but the fact that we have our friends and family round us right now makes this the perfect moment to announce something. YN would you like to say it or would you like me to?”

All you could do was cling to Jensen’s hand as you got up,

“well as you all know we went for a little vacay to LA and we were amazed by how much fun we had it was mainly shopping. But we were entitled to everything. But while there we had a lot of wild fun and the week before we left, I got woken up from my sleep by what at the time I had perceived to be a bug of some kind, but when I got the idea to test the theory I tested it right away. After finding out the results I woke Jensen immediately and we couldn’t be more thrilled so I just have one question for both of the other ladies in this room: as my bridal party would you both also take up the role of God mother for our child…???”

Everyone’s eyes widened as Jensen said, “YN and I are gonna be parents, we are about 2 weeks along now… our first appointment with the doctor is next week.”  

Everyone hugged you both, they now understood why you weren’t drinking but they did cheers to you and Jensen anyway and thus so turned their attention back to the food that was now slowly becoming cooler but now everyone understood.

After a while it was decided to move the wedding date forward in order for you to be able to fit into your dress and yet still make you Mrs. Y/N Ackles. But it was gonna take a little bit of time so neither of your bridal party was really caring about anything else just intensely focusing on giving you and Jensen the best wedding ever.

-----------2 months later THE FIRST BIG DAY------------

“Gen I don’t know if I can do everything exactly as practiced I mean we had to as it is change the bust part for my dress which sucks but I guess its part of being pregnant my boobs grow too. But im like I don’t know nervous maybe…”

Gen spun me towards her as we stood in the mirror, “look ok I know one thing Jensen wont ever let anything happen to you. He loves you too much to let you be nervous. Now put a smile on your face and finish your vows so we can put you in your dress and get you out there.”

You sighed looking at your dress still sitting on the mannequin, you finished writing your vows down. And Gen helped you into your dress. You spun round in it and smiled allowing no tears yet to fall from your eyes.

You took your phone and smiled, sticking it in your clutch and handing that to Gen who then texted Jared and Y/F/N that it was time and Jared said he and Jensen were already at the alter. You stopped at the door and became extremely nervous feeling your heart pulsing faster.

You had no idea what you were walking out into and yet you felt your mark burning it was nothing to be wronged of. You felt it heat up but little known to you Jensen was just as nervous as you. Yet Gen and Jared were surprisingly calm considering their best friends were getting married and yet they had not freaked out once.

---------Jensen view---------

“Damn jared and Gen went all out to turn their back yard into a ceremony/reception place it is gonna be so hard not to take Y/N to the bathroom and go wild but meh, we will do lots of that later right now I just need to remember what…”

At that moment Jensen was snapped out of his little thought span by Jared coming up behind him and patting him on the back, “so dude you ready for this I mean its gonna be amazing you and Y/N are really a beautiful couple plus this baby dude your gonna be a father im super stoked im gonna be an uncle.. its gonna be awesome. Anyway Gen says its time the minister is already here and the cast and crew are also here she will be coming down with Y/N in a few moments you need to get into position. Dude don’t worry everything will be fine.”

Jensen looked over at his best friend and smiled walking up the aisle with Jared leading the way he took their positions. Then the music started and it sounded through the entire property, with Gen and Y/F/N on either side of Y/N it was how Y/N had chosen to make her grand entrance but rehearsing this was a fun thing and her parents had suggested it since they couldn’t make it to the wedding they had asked Gen and Y/F/N  to take their places and that they would skype in while they were at their business meetings their supervisors were friends and so she actually had the entire boards of her parents works watching the wedding while they had their meetings. Which made Jensen smile he never dreamed he would have had this many people at his wedding at all.

----------Y/N POV-----------

You were more nervous but happy your parents at least got to witness your wedding, although it was amazing having your friends walk you down the aisle. But you did as soon as the march started you all strolled down the aisle at a steady pace and your eyes locked with Jensen’s you were sure you would fall on your face but that wasn’t going to happen.

Finally, it was the end of the aisle your hand connected with Jensen’s and once more you felt like you were home. Your friends took their spots behind you as the minister spoke,

“honored and esteemed friends & family today we have gathered to bear witness to the union of Jensen Ackles and YF&LN these 2 souls may have lived within the darkness but yet stay now & forevermore in the light of eachother for by the holy grace of God we bare witness to their marks for these 2 souls have been pre destined to be together now if anyone objects to this union please speak up or forever hold your peace...”

Well the good news was that no one objected, “very well Jensen & Y/N its time for your vows…”

Jensen’s touch against your hands was calming as he spoke,

“Y/N stepping foot into a convention and not expecting something is all part of the fun and that day we both found something we could have only dreamed of. We found eachother we weren’t expecting to come out of the con with our soulmates but it happened and I’m so thankful for every precious day with you. I Jensen Ross Ackles promise on this day to love cherish and protect you for the rest of our lives for as long as we both shall live.”

You stroked the top of his hand after he placed the ring on your finger as you smiled and spoke,

“Jensen you have made me a very lucky lady I mean you took my breath away that first day and now I can’t even find the words to describe my love for you. All these years before finding you I thought I was alone that I didn’t have a soulmate and I know now that I have you now and forevermore as part of my love for the supernatural fandom I taught myself Latin and with that I have one thing to say, quod est vinculum amor coniungit nos meaning love is the bond that unites us. I YFMLN also promise on this day to love cherish and protect you for the rest of our lives as long as we both shall live.”

With that the preacher smiled as you placed the ring on Jensen’s finger and spoke, “with the power vested in me by the laws of the church and heaven and in the sight of God I now pronounce you husband and wife. Jensen you may now kiss your bride.”

Jensen dipped you towards your bridal party and kissed you passionately. You could see the flashes from all the cameras and the people cheering. Everyone was happy most of all you and Jensen were happy.

There was a party after but all you and Jensen wanted to do was sit nestled on the porch wearing still your wedding clothes. You didn’t have the faintest idea of what the future still held, but you and Jensen were gonna live life to the fullest you could and it would all be amazing cause you would be together.

Everyone was impressed what destination you and Jensen had chosen for your honeymoon you both had chosen an all inclusive no expense spared luxury trip for a month to Disney world only shopping and small rides that wouldn’t hurt you but it was still gonna be amazing.

You could only smile as the private jet took off but with Jensen sitting next to you it was awesome. You arrived and your month went nice and slow but you came back just after you started showing but when you guys returned it was time to travel to Vancouver for starting to shoot the next season.

-----------6 MONTHS LATER-----------

You and Jensen were coming back from Vancouver and all of the sudden it hit you the FIRST contraction. Driving back from the airport Jensen stopped the car pulling over as you screamed in pain.

“it is a contraction it’s the first one it hurts like a son of a bitch…  ug ahhhhhh”

You screamed again as the second one hit and Jensen undid your seatbelt slightly making it easier for you to breathe as he started the car again, “hang on sweetheart…. We will be at the hospital in about 10 minutes. Don’t worry honey it will be alright…”

You focused on your breathing and Jensen’s thumb stroking the back of your hand, you tried to smile through the pain. But it hurt so much and you were not sure how you would live through this…

You guys arrived at the hospital and Jensen helped get you inside immediately you were placed in a wheelchair and you could hear the nurses and Jensen talking around you as you let out another scream as your 3rd contraction hit.

Then this is all you heard,

Nurse: Jensen I assume you want to be in the room for the birth of your child

Jensen: yes of course but she keeps screaming in pain please tell me she is gonna only get the push system

Nurse: of course for as long as everything goes perfectly.

Jensen: don’t let my wife or my child die

Nurse: according to this mobile ultrasound its 2 children

Jensen: 2 children is that why it hurts so much…

You screamed once more and looked for Jensen, “it hurts everything hurts.”

Jensen who now held your hand as the nurses helped you on the bed but Jensen pulled out his phone and texts Jared who responds with he and Gen are on their way to the hospital but puts his phone down and stares right into your eyes, “babe breathe just breathe and push… sorry doc but I don’t think my wife will listen to you right now…”

You were calmed by the sound of Jensen’s voice and you felt the needle go into you and felt the pain subside slightly.

Jensen held your hand as the nurse looked at you, “ok Y/N I need you to push hun the first one is almost out I need one big push…”

You listened to the nurse nodding your head and squeezing Jensen’s hand tightly as you screamed pushing as hard as you could but felt relief when you heard the sound of crying,

“congratulations it’s a boy…”

You had a moment to breathe actually, you had like 15 minutes to breathe before the contractions started again…

The nurses had moved your son to get him cleaned up and stuff, “hun you need to push more this time and there should still be enough morphine in your system to last through this one… ok push….”

All you could do was scream there was a very high pain tolerance, you squeezed Jensen’s hand as tight as you could and screamed as the sound cut out and the voices rang in your ears.

You never wanted to feel such pain, but you didn’t mind you were bringing children into this world and you had every intention of staying in this world to raise them but with the sound having cut out you were only half there.

Jensen tried to get your attention but you were still screaming, Jensen watched your eyes fade to black and then back to brown once the nurses injected you with a sedative the last thing you hear is, “congratulations it’s a girl…”

You woke up 1 hour later and you see Jensen with some supernatural lore books and he turns to you, “babe your awake what happened back there?” you shrugged your shoulders not realizing what happened, “I don’t know jay I mean the last thing I remember is the sound cutting out after the nurse told me to push… you look frightened dear what else happened?”

Jared walked in at that moment, “jay none of the nurses noticed her eyes change and the scans of your children look normal… are you sure of what you saw man?” Jensen nodded his head, “im positive but if there was a demon here where did it go…” Jared only cleared his throat and looked at your shocked expression.

“hold on first of all children??? I remember the nurses saying a boy and a girl we have 2 but what is this about a demon and when do we kill it I want to do this no one possesses my body while I’m pregnant and gets away with it...”

Jensen and Jared only smiled at your eagerness for hunting but there was also a lot wrong with this, “but this life it isn’t supposed to be real, I mean all the books and everything are nothing compared to what I saw from you babe, as soon as I told Jared what I saw he took Gen home and is keeping her out of it for now… we will all need to work together which means Jared and Gen are moving in with us for the time being. I mean we would need help anyway but still what’s the modo???”

“SAVING PEOPLE, HUNTNG THINGS, THE FAMILY BUSINESS…” all of you said as the twins started crying wanting to be fed but a nurse came in and locked the door. 

But that is another tale for another time.

[poetryofchrist]

November 2018 Biblical Studies Carnival

Biblical Studies Carnival 153 - Cold Entertainment

"power is an object of critique, and critique a means to attain power"1

Week 1... to Nov 6

Zeal to promote the common good, ...2

Don't miss the political tent. Oh No. Is there no other tent on the carnival grounds? Is every act of reception of the Bible a political act? (via James McGrath) Here's a distant view on the body politic from Jim Gordon, posted independently of the prior link. James also shared this choice from the NYT. The Political tent of TNK

... Civility, wholesome Laws,learning and eloquence ...

Pomegranate in razor wire

Via Jim Davila, an ancient political choice, Was Jeroboam pagan or yahwist?

The will to power via knowledge, Prof. Carol Meyers on The Shunammite woman and patriarchy Like us or not? Bosco Peters has a series on disagreeing with the bible. Mark Goodacre' colleague, Marc Brettler, reflects on Torah as the tree of life. Deception to get attention to a cause, Daniel Falk on Dead sea scrolls are a priceless-link. Noted also by Michael Langlois De faux rouleaux au Musée de la Bible. Rivka's questions and our own building lessons via Rachel Barenblatt.

Protection schemes from Bob MacDonald, your host, in 1 Samuel 25, illustrating the law of brotherhood. Moshe Blidstein on oaths while holding a Torah scroll - politics and God. Wondering about the history of the usage of political? Here's a contribution this month Colin Maccabe and Holly Yanacek, from OUP.

The NT Political Tent

... bridled and restrained from outrageous behaviour, ...

What is the most important lesson the early church learned from Jesus? from Andrew Perriman. Jim Gordon on stones. I will also give that person a white stone. Phillip Long on A warning against too much wealth. Andrew Perriman on "geo-political realignment" here, and the presence of hell. From Biblical Studies online, Female disciples in early Christianity Candida Moss on anti Semitic use of bible. From Larry Hurtado Terminology and its effects e g scribes-vs-copyists. Via Jim Davila, Aren M. Wilson-Wright on Politics begins in childhood with the abcedary. Jim West reviews Lukas Bormann's New Testament Theology.

Weeks 2-4 TNK

... enabled to inform and reform others...

Jacob’s Dream by Aert de Gelder 1710-1715

A review of Kings, Subjects, and the Divine: Politics in the Hebrew Bible by Moshe Halbertal and Stephen Holmes by reviewer, David Polansky. James Pate reviews Creation and Doxology, The Beginning and End of God's World. Airtonjo on Research in the Pentateuch. Baruch Schwartz asks, Can one do source criticism of a dream? Jones F. Mendonça notes the peculiarity of day 2. Rachel Barenblatt speaks with the voice of Eden. Zilla Eschel on Paying with shekels of silver. Bob Ekblad on Strangers and Aliens. The Hebrew Language Detective on Bavel. Henry Neufeld on the value of Pi. Via Jim Davila, a meteor blast for Sodom?

John Martin's 'Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,' 1852

A podcast with Kyle Greenwood via James McGrath on Genesis 1 and 2. From BAR, how to make a mud-brick. Moshe Sokolow on Adam vs Nephesh, an interesting twist, subject to testing and verification. Dualism in TNK? Albert Baumgarten on the textual issue in Esau's kissing of Jacob.

A leaf from T-S A43.1, one of the Genizah’s serugin manuscripts, how to read a shorthand Bible Jer 27.

William Whitt introduces a new translation of Samuel. Full text is online here.

Micah and Defense Spending, Jim Gordon on Hans Walter Wolfe. This newsletter from Cambridge on the Genizah fragments was noted by Jim Davila. Tim Bulkeley on Jesus as a false prophet according to Zechariah 13:6. Heavy sheep from Tim, the shepherd, on Isaiah 53. (Phil Long has some wolves to add to these.) Statutes that were not good, Oliver Achilles on Ezekiel 20. A final status report from your host on his completed draft English libretto for the music of the te'amim. Another Robert has also completed his Bible as noted here.

The opening of Psalm 68 (‘Salvum me fac’) from the Vespasian Psalter

A work of beauty from the Medieval manuscripts blog on the Vespasian Psalter. Via A. Riddle, Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament, Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts, edited by Jonathan S. Greer, John W. Hilber, and John H. Walton. Via Jim Davila, a review of Septuaginta, a reader's edition. Brian Davidson gives an example from Exodus 32. Claude Mariottini reports on the lost tribe of Manasseh and a follow up on the northern deportation.

Henry Neufeld muses on the Old in Old Testament, a hermeneutical strategy noted here by James Mcgrath. Jim Gordon begins a series of guest posts on Eugene Peterson with a note by Simon Jones on Under the unpredictable plant.

NT

we subject ourselves to everyone's censure,

Via Jim Davila, Gospels before the book. What, Me Worry? Phil Long on The birds and the grass (now legal in Canada).

James McGrath on the poor in spirit and cultural blindness.

Jesus and the Synagogue, Bosco Peters on Liturgy. Michael Bird on Rachel Held Evans and the Canaanite woman.

James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). Jésus dans la synagogue déroule le livre)

Paul Anderson on Anti-Semitism and Religious Violence as False Interpretations of the Gospel of John. An interesting inscription from Nazareth in a book about Wilhelm Froehner, a colleague of Ernest Renan. Via Jim Davila. Larry Hurtado on the wild theory of textual transmission of the Gospels and on Saul as Persecutor and Jewish Tolerance of Diversity. And a dialogue here on God's Library. Robin Jensen considers the image of the cross in history. Andrew Perriman on Why did the Jews accuse Jesus of making himself equal to God. And again citing McGrath and Barrett on the use of I am in John. Wayne Coppins reviews the action at SBL on Frei's, The Glory of the Crucified One, and adds some missing comments on his favorite parts as co-translator particularly as regards the implications for Christology in John. Ring found with Pilatus inscribed note by James McGrath and Todd Bolen. Additional comment from Jim Davila. Lena Einhorn posted a video (from SBL 2012) on a time-shift between the Gospels and Josephus. Spencer Robinson works through Schreiner's Romans. Issue 5 of JJMJS is available, all on Paul, Judaism, and the Jewish People. Including Matthew Thiessen's riff on Jon Lennon's Imagine, also several scholars on personal callings and conflicts with interpretive schools. Tim Bulkeley has a very short 50th anniversary note here.

The 4 horsemen

Henry Neufeld on Romans 9-11 concerning human wiggle room, (a.k.a. free will), and foreknowledge vs 'a reasonable amount of ordinary knowledge for a deity'. d. miller on family practice, the holy kiss.

Brian Small on the two mountains in Hebrews 12. And a paper revisiting High Priesthood Christology. And from SBL Hebrews at the Cyber-Center.

Marg Mowczco on 1 Timothy, a critique of the ESV Study Bible notes. And on ministry titles in 1 Corinthians 16:16. Mike Bird interviews Jörg Frei on Jude and 2 Peter, a glimpse into the difficult history of the Biblical canon. Richard Fellows comments on Jerome's list of New Testament proper names. Narrative, subtlety, and urgency in the Alpha and the Omega, political eschatology in Revelation. Ian Paul on Conspiracy theory and the book of Revelation. Greg Jenks on amber and red lights, reviewing N.T. Wright. Your host has been influenced this month by this research for the carnival, so much so that he formed a last post of the month on how to form a reading strategy for the New Testament. Other things

and happy is he that is least tossed upon tongues;

Part of an ancient computer

Larry Hurtado on Evans JBL 136.4 (2017): 749-64 about over-emphasis on a performance model of the use of Scripture. Also on silent reading in Roman antiquity. More abstracts (prior to the pay wall) are available on performance criticism here in the Oral History Journal of South-Africa. An interview with Steve Walton, Paul Trebilco, and David Gill on their collection of essays, The Urban World and the First Christians. Here's a nice technique of mouse over magnification and detailed analysis Taylor-schechter-genizah-research-unit...fragment-8. Centre for the study of New Testament Manuscripts has digitized Codex Koridethi. Ancient technology outlined by Airtonjo. More on it from Livius Drusus here and via Jim Davila here. Modern technology will get you to the Hebrew alphabet classes in Seoul. The video is quite cute.

Ian Paul issued a note on Facebook worthy of the political theme noted this month. A whole raft of Anglicans had a conversation on Twitter about the least of these and with more on the early teachers in Christendom on the least. Sefaria has released two dictionaries online A Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature by Marcus Jastrow and A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English by Ernest Klein.

Tim Bulkeley notes a free Biblical Archaeology course from Bar Ilan University here. There's probably time before the end of the world. Via Drew Longacre, National Geographic has an article on the cloak and dagger search for sacred tests. Jim Davila points to an article on reading obituaries in ancient Judah.

Hand from Tomb 2. Photo by Jeremy Smoak

While searching for a secured image of the hand in that article on obits, I accidentally discovered this November article in Chinese, 十個關於早期基督教出乎意料的事實 Ten unexpected facts about early Christianity copied from an article a few months earlier in English and showing how scholars are quoted in or out of context around the world by Facebook, Blogger, and Google+. It would seem that the English speaking world of Biblical Studies has limited contact with similar studies in other cultures. ulb Münster has several bibles online including the Complutensian Polyglot, Erasmus, Bengel, Wettstein, Griesbach, Tregelles, Westcott and Hort, Nestle, and others, all free to download. Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology is now online from 1982-2012 as noted here. Jean Lipman-Blumen has a reflection on toxic, the word of the year. A final note from Religion and Politics on Eugene Peterson and the Imperative of Biblical Literacy.

Next Carnivals

So hard a thing it is to please all,

Local storefront near Oak Bay junction, a study in culture

What comes after 153? Advent. Dale Brueggemann has an Advent series planned that might interest some of you. Post is here. Christopher Scott (@ChristopherLS) will be hosting the December 2018 carnival CLIV (due January 1, 2019). Please email (plong42 at gmail.com) or direct message on Twitter (@plong42) to volunteer for a 2019 carnival. Phil has thrown down the gauntlet. Hosting a carnival is a valuable task. You will be challenged to decide what to include from the several possible source streams that you follow on aggregators, flipboards, social media, blogs, and other news feeds. Just what is Biblical Studies? BS opens up questions that may be disturbing to an established position. Do you follow people that you may disagree with? You may allow some leeway since preachers and theologians of all confessional stripes say they 'study the Bible'. And you may watch secular blogs and newspapers, for some of them express reception history, whether assumed or critical, from the Bible. As the month progresses, a theme emerges, maybe flippant or serious, not always as expected. Take up the gauntlet. 1 From CRASSH on The Imaginative Landscapes of Islamist Politics. 2 Source of the right justified commentary, https://ift.tt/2U1q92J

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What Is Pornography - Part 5 - THE STRUGGLE WITH PORN - Part 22

22. We can’t protect our kids from porn in today’s world.

There is no question about whether our children will see porn. Their exposure to it is inevitable.

While making his documentary Porn on the Brain, Martin Daubney was invited to sit in on a class of teen boys and girls at a school in North England with a fantastic reputation. Jonny Hunt, a sex education consultant, stood before a class of uniformed students — wide-eyed, shy, with high-pitched voices, barely adolescents — and asked them to write a list of all the sexual terms they knew, no matter how extreme. When Hunt pinned their lists to the board, every adult in the room was startled about how much these students knew: their index of terms surpassed the knowledge even of the consultant.

After sitting in on several more classes like this one and interviewing some of the children, Daubney wrote, “It seemed as if the children’s entire expectation of sex had been defined by what they see in online porn.” Young girls spoke of how boys expect porn sex in real life. Boys spoke of how they even stumble across bestiality online. Daubney asked the teens, “On a scale of one to ten, how likely would you say it is that boys and girls your age are watching porn online?” The reply was a chorus of tens, nines, and one eight. All the students admitted that their parents had no idea what they were watching.

Eric Spitznagel, writing for Details magazine, says, “By the time they’re in high school, America’s porn-fed youth have already amassed an encyclopedic knowledge of smut.” Spitznagel was not writing this out of concern for teens but was looking upon their experiences with a middle-aged jealousy. Gone are the days of prepubescent boys stumbling on a father’s stash of magazines in the closet. Boys and girls now consume hard-core video material that is readily available to them.

CyberPsychology and Behavior released the results of a study showing that 93 percent of boys and 62 percent of girls in the United States see porn before the age of eighteen, and many of these exposures are not shut-the-laptop-and-walk-away glimpses but porn binges. According to the 2010 Youth Internet Safety Survey, a quarter of U.S. teens are exposed to porn online when they aren’t even looking for it.

The majority of the pornography consumed is accessed on mobile devices. An estimated 31 percent of teens own smartphones, and a smartphone without restrictions amounts to an X-rated theater in your pocket.

Among youth, it is not a matter of merely consuming porn but of becoming porn. Kim Goldman, director of the Santa Clarita Valley Youth Project, says, “Of course girls want to emulate this stuff. Girls talk about feeling like they have to be like what they see on TV.” Conservative estimates say that about 20 percent of sixteen-year-olds and 30 percent of seventeen-year-olds have received a sext (a sexually explicit text message) on their cell phones. Teens use apps such as Snapchat, Kik, WhatsApp, or iDelete to send nude images of themselves. Often teens will use Tumblr and Facebook to leak sexts of their ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends — a phenomenon called “revenge porn”.

I heard Joanna Angel, owner of the porn company Burning Angel, say that she doesn’t have to coach the young actors doing porn films for the first time. Having indulged in porn since youth, she said, boys and girls come to the porn set ready to perform. They enter their relationships ready to perform too. Pornography is powerful sex education. One study that surveyed teens suggests that the more often young people seek online porn, the more likely they are to have a “recreational” attitude about sex. Among young men who watch porn, 53 percent say that porn has “inspired” them.

In the face of such an overwhelming trend among youth, do parents have any hope of protecting their children?

First, as parents, we should not allow the trends to cloud our understanding of the role we play. We are not responsible in the short term for every child on the planet. We are responsible for our own children. All the grim statistics should not paralyze us into inactivity.

To help our children to grow up in a pornified world, we must take the double-pronged strategy of both protecting their minds and preparing their character.

Protecting Their Minds

Beginning when your children are very young, think holistically about media choices and access in your home. You must be shrewd about all the media your kids consume. Remember, pornography exists on a spectrum of media options. A report from the American Psychological Association states, “Virtually every media form studied provides ample evidence of the sexualization of women, including television, music videos, music lyrics, movies, magazines, sports media, video games, the Internet, and advertising.”

You must be the media gatekeepers and never be passive when it comes to the media choices your children make. Watch TV and movies with your children. Know what magazines they are reading and what websites they visit. Be vocal about your values, and ask critical questions. “Is a woman’s true value bound up in how she looks?” “Did you notice that this advertisement is drawing attention to her sex appeal?” Give your children the language to question the values that are being pushed through sexual images. If you don’t like a certain TV show, movie, or piece of music, tell your children why and then be clear about your expectations.

Some kind of Internet filtering and monitoring is an absolute must. Make this your personal rule: if I am not willing to monitor it, I will not provide it or allow it. This rule should go for you as well: if you install monitoring or filtering software on computers, tablets, and phones that your children use, do the same for yourself — with modified settings so that you can get to the places online you need to go to. This models accountability for your kids.

For a while, I worked for a wonderful software company called Covenant Eyes, and I saw firsthand from the customers the value of raising kids with accountability. Especially when kids are young, strict filtering is a must, but as they get older, you should hold your kids accountable for where they go online as you loosen the filtering restrictions. Notice that the focus here should be on accountability, not on spying. Accountability means that your teens know that their online footprints are being tracked. You aren’t trying to catch them red-handed. If kids grow up in a home where tracking isn’t a punitive measure but simply part of the culture of the home, they are far more likely to embrace it.

Children should be prepared from a young age to deal with porn exposure. Even when all the protective measures are in place in your own home, your child is only as safe as the locker room at school — where kids are walking around with cell phones full of hard-core material. Train your child from a young age how to react when porn appears.

For young children, there’s a fantastic read-aloud book called Good Pictures Bad Pictures. Author Kristen Jensen does a wonderful job of warning children about the existence of pornography without provoking needless curiosity. The book presents kids with a simple plan for how to react if they see pornography.

For all children and teens, there must be media limits in the home. Don’t even make secrecy an option. Cell phones should be monitored and filtered and should stay out of bedrooms at night. (And if your teen says that he uses his phone as an alarm clock, remember that stores still sell alarm clocks and go buy one.) Again, if these rules are established early, they will not be seen as disciplinary but as wise principles by which your family operates.

Preparing Their Character

Protective measures are important, but they are not the most important. In the end, we are raising future adults, not just kids. We are raising young men and women who will eventually leave home and enter a world without filters. It is vital that we prepare them by fortifying their character.

Sex Education

Teaching kids about sex might sound toe curling to some parents, but if we neglect to be involved in our children’s sexual maturation, we will be leaving a massive void that promoters of pornography will be only too eager to fill.

Sex education, whether we like it or not, begins early. From a young age, children discover and explore their sexual identity and notice the basic physical differences in the opposite sex. Even when your children are young, you can communicate with them about the dignity and the value of their bodies. Teach your children the names of body parts and the importance of honoring their bodies and the bodies of others through modesty and privacy.

Age six in many countries marks a significant shift in a child’s life as he begins to spend more time in school around peers, and it is in this setting that children are often exposed to misinformation about sex. Additionally, around the age of six or seven, children enter a new stage of cognitive development, when they begin to reason with logic and imagination. They become more aware of the world around them, and their intellectual curiosity begins to grow. Also around this age, a child’s adrenal glands begin to mature, which leads to the production of natural sexual steroids in the body. Because of these factors, this is a perfect age for parents to begin having more formal conversations with their children about specific sexual topics, such as how life begins. It is also a time to give warnings about sexual predators.

During the middle childhood years, parents should teach children about the nature and the purpose of sex — most of all, its power and beauty. For some parents this might seem absurd. What young child can really understand these adult topics? The point of this education is not to overwhelm children with titillating information but to impress upon them the goodness of sex when it is expressed with mutual love and affection in marriage.

During this time, make sure to draw a contrast between the goodness of marital love and the wrongness of exploiting another’s body. You don’t have to look far for examples. The checkout aisle at the grocery store will suffice — every magazine cover explodes with vibrant displays of scantily clad men and women. Simply tell your children, “Do you see the woman in this photo? Someone has paid her to show off her body to the world to attract people to buy this magazine, but we know that the human body is not meant to be turned into an object like this.”

As kids get older, it is vital for parents to have conversations about body image and specific sexual behaviors. Parents must become unflinching realists and prepare themselves for candid conversations.

Once I gave a talk to a group of parents about sex education. While the overwhelming response to the talk was positive, some parents said they felt very uncomfortable with my using words such as “penis” and “vagina” in a public setting. I wanted to say, “No wonder you don’t talk to your kids about sex. You can’t even listen to anatomical words in room full of adults who have gathered to talk about sex.” If this is you, I tell you with the utmost compassion: please overcome this inhibition. Children and teens need to see that their parents are reliable sources of knowledge about sex, which means that conversations about these matters should be considered normal in the home.

Please don’t mistake my brevity on this subject for ignorance about the fear parents feel over this issue. I know parents often are afraid of saying too much too soon. Sadly, this often means that they end up saying too little too late.

Modeling Love

The sad reality is, children are sexualized because of adults. Adults are the ones who own multimillion-dollar advertising companies. Adults are the ones who buy and sell the bodies of others. Adults are the ones who produce and consume porn. Adults are the ones who expose children to porn, and sometimes these adults are the children’s own parents.

If we are going to form the character of our children, we need to model the kind of person we wish them to become. This starts with the media we consume ourselves, but it extends beyond this to the way we relate to one another. We need to take an honest look at ourselves and ask: Do I show respect for myself and others by the way I dress, speak, and act? Do I honor and cherish my spouse? Am I careful to govern the things I look at and think about? Do I set boundaries to protect my children?

Choose to be a family that upholds the dignity of every person. If you are a father, be the dad who noticeably turns his head or changes the channel when a racy image comes on TV. Show affection to your daughters and take an active role in protecting them by setting curfews, meeting their friends, and restricting their social life and social media when necessary. Talk frankly to your sons about sexual self-control. If you are a mother, be the mom who affirms her own inner beauty and doesn’t obsess over her looks. Set the example of modesty for your daughters. If you are married, be the couple who goes on dates, communicates, and gives each other compliments. If you are a husband or a wife, be the spouse who steals kisses in the hallway: show your children what marital love and tenderness look like so that the allure of abusive porn sex can’t hold a candle to what they’ve seen at home.

Setting Boundaries

A child who never suffers the consequences of his bad choices will soon learn that he can get away with anything. A child who never learns to respect authority will soon come to believe that all rules and guidelines are nothing but arbitrary standards that can be discarded for any momentary pleasure. Such a child is ripe for porn when he stumbles upon it. This is why children should grow up in homes where there are clear rules and expectations.

On this point we must be very careful. Too many parents have discarded the notion of rigid household rules because they associate this with authoritarianism. They know that kids living in authoritarian homes are quick to rebel because of power struggles, and they are correct.

Clinical psychologist Diana Baurmind’s traditional classifications of parenting styles can be helpful as we consider how to lay ground rules in the home. There is a major difference between authoritative and authoritarian parenting.

• Authoritative parents use discipline to instill character in their children. Authoritarian parents use harsh chastisement to coerce and to control their children and, when that fails, to inflict pain on their children to get revenge.

• Authoritative parents accompany their discipline and instruction with high levels of warmth and grace. Authoritative parents are often cold and distant.

• Authoritative parents allow children to question the rules because they know that dialogue is part of the learning process. Authoritarian parents are unresponsive to a child’s needs and questions.

Because porn has no rules and feels like a no-risk venture, the child who believes there are no norms and expectations, or a child who believes he can easily ignore those expectations, will undoubtedly become ensnared in sexual media.

Parents should make expectations and standards clear in the home — not just about matters of sexuality and media choices, but about all matters that pertain to living wisely. Yes, children will push the limits, but an authoritative parent knows how to push back in a manner that communicates authority without sparking a huge power struggle. Authoritative parents invest time and attention in setting rules with their children, not just for their children, allowing them to see the wisdom of the rules that are set.

Nurture and Love

For many reasons, porn can become a refuge for people. In the world of fantasy, we get a quick fix of erotic pleasure, and in that fantasy world nothing is expected of us. Amid the pressures of life, a little porn can feel like well-deserved relief.

This is why, as parents, we need to do everything in our power to make sure that our homes are not places our kids seek refuge from. If anything, our homes should be places of refuge, but this cannot happen if our kids are growing up in an environment of constant criticism, impatience, self-centeredness, and frustration.

We must remember: there are two kinds of parental authority: institutional and personal. Institutional authority is the authority that parents have simply by virtue of being parents: children should honor their elders because they are their elders. Personal authority is the kind of authority that parents have by taking visible responsibility for their children, showing love, devotion, and affection, and giving children a sense of power in the choices they make. As parents do this, children yield to the wisdom their parents impart. Both kinds of authority are important for parents to use.

Institutional authority is like having your name on the checkbook; personal authority is like having money in the bank. Some parents make the mistake of thinking that if they deposit a lot of money in the account, they’ll never have to write a check. They never put up any boundaries or make any rules. They have a “just love ’em” attitude, which means they end up being pushovers. Other parents make the opposite mistake of believing that they can’t possibly be out of money because they still have checks in the checkbook. In other words, they demand obedience from their children “because I said so”, but their children are exasperated because their homes are devoid of the kind of encouragement that would help them to flourish.

There are no guarantees when it comes to parenting because no parent can control every aspect of a child’s world. But so far as it depends on us as parents, we must step up to the plate and raise the kind of children who are ready to respond to a sexualized world. We must guard their eyes and fortify their hearts. We must teach them the goodness and the purpose of sex, show them the beauty of sexual integrity and marital love, give them firm boundaries, and nurture them with affection and attention.

This isn’t just porn-proof parenting. It is wise parenting.